


The Missing Piece

by GrounderRecords



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: Brief Tori/Ryder, Cussing, F/F, Jori is End Game, Loosely canon, slow-ish, torvel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:15:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 60,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25915711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrounderRecords/pseuds/GrounderRecords
Summary: Sometimes puzzle pieces aren't meant to fit together... and sometimes, the perfect fit has been right in front of you all along.
Relationships: Tori Vega/Jade West
Comments: 143
Kudos: 274





	1. How long has this been going on?

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Victorious, though that's probably obvious. This is just an idea that came to mind while binging the show during quarantine. Happy reading!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody makes mistakes, even Jade West.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from How Long by Charlie Puth.

It was Valentine’s Day at Hollywood Arts and the Asphalt Café was abuzz. There were couples _everywhere_ , way more singing than usual and, from the second level, a few students could be seen preparing to perform romantic Shakespearean scenes to an audience of, well, just Sinjin Van Cleef, the weirdest person in school.

Jade West sat alone at the table she and her friends usually sat at, with her red Pearbook propped open in front of her next to her lunch. She picked up a fry from her tray with one hand as she logged into her laptop with the other. 

As she waited for her friends—who couldn’t have picked a worse day to be late and leave her sitting in the middle of the madness alone— she started to wonder how much more she could take of this stupid holiday. 

It was no surprise to anyone that Jade hated Valentine’s Day. She always had, and she always would. She hated all corny holidays, but this one took the cake. What was the point of it anyway? If she had to hear one more love song, she’d have to show everyone how skilled she could be with a pair of scissors.

“Where is everyone?” Robbie Shapiro asked, taking a seat across from Jade and interrupting her reverie. 

Awkward and weird as he may be, Robbie was one of Jade’s close friends. She’d known him for years and though she found him really annoying most of the time, especially when he ran around with his hand shoved up a puppet’s butt, she still kind of tolerated him. 

“Who knows, who cares,” she replied dryly, not bothering to look up at him. She was too busy searching for movie showtimes on her laptop. 

“Don’t be a grunch, Jade, there’s still time for you to find a valentine,” Rex, Robbie’s puppet, said. He started to laugh until Jade slowly looked up from her screen, her blue-green eyes fixed on him. If looks could kill, he’d be laying on a hospital bed… lifeless. 

“Robbie, you better shut your little puppet up right now or I swear I’ll k—”

But her threat was interrupted by the chords of an acoustic guitar being played right behind her ear. 

“NO!” she yelled, loud enough to get the attention of the Shakespeare club on the second level that had frozen mid-scene. She had a way of scaring people.

Jade turned to look at the freshman who stood behind her, her hand slowly inching for the scissors she kept hidden under the waistband of her black skirt. He had his mouth open like he was ready to start singing to her, but he never got the chance. As soon as Jade’s glare was on him, he took off in a sprint, clutching onto his guitar for dear life.

See, Hollywood Arts had a fun—depending on who you asked—little tradition for Valentine’s Day. Sing-O-Grams. You paid $5 and chose someone to have a love song of your choice performed to them. And every year, students went crazy for it.

The “performers” were comprised of a random group of students, or as Jade always put it, “ _sexless nerds._ ” Robbie, being one of them, was always quick to take offense. “ _I rest my case_ ,” Jade would say each time he’d argue. 

The grams were mostly popular between couples, but some students would send them anonymously to their secret crushes. Beck Oliver, Jade’s ex-boyfriend, always knew better than to send her one, unless he wanted his head chewed off, or cut off by her scissors. 

“Well, you sure scared the chiz outta that kid,” Beck said as he sat down next to Jade. He took a bite out of his apple, stifling a laugh as he watched the freshman run toward the main building.

Beck was Jade’s first love. Actually, he was her first everything. He was her first kiss, her first fight, her first 'I love you', her first time, and the first person to ever make her feel truly happy. They dated for two years before breaking up in December. 

It was Jade who ended things, but the split was fairly mutual. She loved Beck, and Beck loved her, but she knew something was missing. He was like a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. It seemed right, but the closer she’d examine it, the more she realized it wasn’t a match. Sometimes puzzle pieces weren’t meant to fit together, no matter how hard you’d want them to.

Initially, their friends were nervous about what the group dynamic would be like after their break up. They hoped no one would have to choose sides. But Beck and Jade remained friends and oddly enough, nothing really changed between them. Jade still got jealous when other girls flirted with him, broken up or not, and Beck was still the same laidback type of guy who wasn’t all too bothered by it. It was weird, but it worked.

“Isn’t that your fifth gram today?” Robbie asked. He thanked his lucky stars that he wasn’t the one chosen to sing to Jade. 

“Sixth,” she said, her voice dripping with irritation. Forgetting about Rex, her annoyance quickly shifted to Sing-O-Grams.

Everyone at school was afraid of her and no guy would ever dare ask her out, even if she was somewhat newly single. Not like she was interested anyway, there wasn’t a single guy at Hollywood Arts that she was attracted to, except Beck, but that ship sailed a few months before and she wasn’t itching to reboard it. 

With their cloaks of anonymity, guys were coming out of the woodwork and sending her Sing-O-Grams in hopes that, maybe, she’d give them a chance. They could stay hoping though, Jade West would rather willingly watch some dumb romantic flick like _Titanic_ than date anyone else at Hollywood Arts. 

“What was that all about?” Tori Vega asked, pointing toward the building behind her where the student had disappeared. “He almost ran into André and I while we were walking over here.” 

“Let me guess, another gram for Jade?” André Harris followed up. He laughed, only to be met with sharp blue-green eyes that caused him to stop immediately. That death glare could do a lot more damage than words. 

Jade, too preoccupied thinking about the revenge she planned to seek on that freshman, didn’t even notice Tori and André had joined them at the table. Nor did she care, really. The two sat side-by-side next to Beck, both eating their respective lunches. 

With the exception of Beck, André was the most tolerable of the friend group, in Jade’s eyes at least. Sure his grandma was borderline crazy and, yeah, he was _always_ humming melodies and making beats for his new songs, but besides that, he wasn’t really that bad. Jade didn’t mind him, that much she’d admit. But Tori? Now that was a different story. 

Tori Vega was to Jade West as hot was to cold. They couldn’t be any more opposite. Tori liked singing and chick flicks, Jade liked acting and horror. Tori was an optimist, Jade a pessimist. Tori was compassionate, positive, and tried way too hard to be Jade’s friend. Jade was apathetic, negative, and not interested in sleepovers and braiding Tori’s hair while they gushed about their crushes. 

But Jade was also jealous, though she would never admit it. Tori showed up at Hollywood Arts over a year ago and was instantly the center of attention. In the span of—literally—one night, Tori Vega became the talk of the school. And since then, everything seemed to be handed to her. Solos, performance slots at school dances, roles in the school plays, Jade’s friends…

Jade couldn’t stand how Tori could just waltz into her school and take everything like she owned the place. So, she made her life a bit of a living hell in retaliation. If no one else would, she’d be glad to.

“Say one more thing about these stupid grams and I’ll have you acquainted with my scissors,” Jade threatened. She picked up another fry and ate it like nothing had happened. 

Everyone nodded. If you spent even the slightest amount of time around Jade, you’d quickly realize it was best not to cross her. Riling her up just spelt out trouble. 

“Hi hi!” Cat Valentine said, skipping her way over to the table. She claimed the seat between Tori and Robbie, a huge smile plastered on her face.

“Hi Cat,” they all said in unison. 

Cat was the closest thing Jade had to a best friend, though she’d never put it that way. No one really understood Cat like Jade did. She wasn’t the brightest light bulb in the pack, and she could talk your ear off about literally anything, but Jade cared about her and felt a strong need to protect her. 

“Well, aren’t you going to ask me why I’m so happy?” Cat asked, looking between her friends. She was practically bouncing with excitement. 

“No,” Jade answered, returning her focus to her laptop.

Beck nudged her with his elbow, lightly hitting her side. Boyfriend or not, he always knew how to get Jade to play nice, or at least try to play nice. 

“Why are you so happy, Cat?” she asked in a monotonous tone. 

“Because it’s Cat Valentine’s Day!” Cat cheered. 

Cat Valentine’s Day, as the name would suggest, was a day to celebrate Cat. It was the one time a year where, for twenty four hours on what normal people would consider Valentine’s Day, everything had to be about her. 

“Right,” André nodded, “happy Cat Valentine’s Day, Lil’ Red.” 

There was a combined mumble of “Happy Cat Valentine’s Day” from the rest of the group which made Cat smile even wider. 

“You’re all coming to Karaoke Dokie to celebrate tonight right?” Cat asked, twirling her red hair around her index finger. 

Karaoke Dokie was a karaoke bar where the group spent most of their time after school. It was Cat’s favorite place to hang out and the location of her Cat Valentine’s Day celebration every year. 

There was a collective nod from the group in response to Cat’s question, except for Jade. “No,” she said, attention still on her laptop.

“What?!” Cat exclaimed, stretching her arm out dramatically and hitting Robbie in the chest. 

“Ouch, Cat!” he exclaimed, rubbing at the spot where Cat’s hand made contact. 

She looked at Robbie and gave him an apologetic smile then turned back to Jade. “You said you were coming when I sent out the mass text last weekend,” she said. She flashed her famous puppy dog eyes, but that _never_ worked on Jade West.

“That was until I remembered _Valentine’s Dead Day_ comes out today and I’m not missing the premiere.”

Jade was a bit of a horror film lover. Well, that was putting it lightly… she was kind of obsessed. Cat Valentine’s Day or not, she planned to be at the next showing of the movie as soon as school let out.

Cat was sad. She wanted all her friends there to celebrate with her, but she knew there was no point in arguing with Jade.

“It’s okay, Cat, we’ll be there,” Tori reassured her, resting a hand on Cat’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“Is Ryder coming too?” Cat asked.

Ryder Daniels was the most recent addition to the group, but only because he was dating Tori. They’d been together for almost five months. Everyone seemed to like him, except Jade, of course. Something about him rubbed her the wrong way, she just wasn’t sure what.

“No,” Tori sighed, “he’s at an audition in New York. He’ll be back on Sunday. We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day then.”

Jade rolled her eyes. Of course they were going to celebrate that stupid holiday. “Well, that explains it,” she said. She finished typing in her card number to purchase a ticket for the movie then looked at Tori. 

Tori looked back at her, an eyebrow raised in confusion. “Explains what?” she asked.

“Why he’s not here clinging onto you like a desperate little monkey.” 

Ryder and Tori were not afraid to be affectionate, sometimes a little too affectionate. The two were almost inseparable since they started dating. Anytime you saw Tori, you could expect to see Ryder with his arm loosely flung around her shoulder, their fingers interlocked. It was far too mushy for Jade.

“He doesn’t cling onto me,” Tori quickly defended. She looked between the group for backup, but they were silent, looking down at the table like there was something far more interesting on it. They weren’t getting involved in another Jade versus Tori quarrel. 

“He doesn’t cling onto me!” Jade repeated in the fake southern belle accent she reserved to mock Tori with. It never failed to get a rise out of her. 

“I don’t talk like that!” Tori cried out.

Jade shrugged. “Whatever,” she said. She finished processing her payment then shut her laptop closed. 

Tori took in a deep breath. This wasn’t the first time Jade had made a remark about Ryder, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last either.

“I know you don’t like my boyfriend, for whatever reason, but the least you could do is pretend to, for my sake,” Tori pleaded. 

Jade placed her laptop in her bag, secured it, and then threw the strap over her shoulder as she said, “I don’t have to do anything, Vega.” 

She stood up and looked between the group. “I’m gonna go, I have a script to write,” she said. 

It wasn’t exactly a lie. She did have a script she’d been meaning to work on, but it wasn’t anything time sensitive. She just needed an excuse to get away from Tori.

Tori watched as Jade walked away and disappeared into the main building. She felt defeated. This wasn’t new territory for her, but she always felt like any time she took a step forward with Jade, they’d immediately take three steps back. 

She didn’t understand her. She couldn’t wrap her head around why she always picked on her, why she’d chosen her as her target practice ever since they met. 

* * *

A couple of hours after school ended, Jade arrived at the movie theater with time to spare before the start of the film. It was her go-to place. Not only did they offer the best horror film marathons that included Jade’s favorite, _The Scissoring_ , but their somewhat off-the-grid location couldn’t be beat. It was just far enough from Hollywood Arts and her neighborhood that the likelihood of seeing someone she knew was practically zero. 

And that was how she liked it. The movie theater was a sacred place for Jade. It was a place to escape and enjoy one of her favorite art forms. It was something she actually preferred to do on her own. Going alone had many perks, she didn’t have to wait around for anyone and everything was done on her time. But the best part was that she could fully submerge herself into the film. There were no distractions, no boyfriend who wanted to make out, no friends who wanted to pass the group popcorn from one end to the other. 

To say she was excited about the premiere was an understatement. To Jade, nothing was as exhilarating as watching a horror movie for the first time, especially one written by the same screenwriter who wrote _The Scissoring_. She had high expectations, but she was sure they’d all be met. 

After finding a spot in the parking lot, Jade walked into the theater lobby. She showed her mobile ticket to the ticket attendant who scanned it before letting her in. 

“Theater six to your left,” the attendant said as the scanner beeped, indicating her ticket was valid.

She opted to skip the concessions line and made a beeline for the theater instead. She wasn’t hungry and she had no intention of drinking anything that would have her up and running to the bathroom mid-movie. 

The theater was about halfway full when she entered. She looked up and toward the far back, spotting a single aisle seat in the very last row. That was the perfect spot. It was as far back from everyone as possible and at the very end, so only one person was on her side, a goth girl like herself. 

She sat down and placed her black purse on her lap, opening it slightly to fish out her cell phone. She had about fifteen minutes to kill before the lights would dim, and the current video playing was explaining movie theater etiquette. She’d been going to the movies for over a decade, she didn’t need a pre-film video to teach her.

On her phone screen, she had a few alerts from The Slap app notifying her that Cat, André, Beck and Robbie had all recently posted. Months back, the group had all agreed to set up notifications for each other so everyone would be alerted when they each posted. Jade had reluctantly agreed, but she refused to add Tori, so she didn’t.

Jade figured the posts were all Cat Valentine’s Day celebration photos from Karaoke Dokie. As the app opened and loaded, she looked up from her phone and noticed a familiar couple standing at the bottom of the opposite staircase, right near the entrance. It was definitely Ryder, Jade could make out by his face since he was facing the audience, and Tori, which she assumed by her long brown hair, similar physique and the hideous outfit she was wearing. She stood facing Ryder, so Jade couldn’t tell exactly. 

Jade didn’t mean to watch them so intently, but she did. She spent enough time looking at them as they talked at the entrance, she didn’t even notice her phone screen go black. There was something that was off about this, and it wasn’t the fact that Ryder and Tori had shown up at _her_ movie theater. Well, it definitely annoyed Jade considering she never expected to see anyone she knew there. It was a hole-in-the-wall of a movie theater, why would they go all the way out there when they have a perfectly good theater near school.

As Ryder turned his attention to look for a pair of empty seats, Jade looked down hoping he wouldn’t notice her. When she peeked, she saw him climbing the stairs, eyes focused on the two empty seats a few rows below Jade. Tori, however, was nowhere to be found. 

Ryder took a seat and Jade watched him. She thought about the conversation from lunch, how Tori said she’d be at Cat’s celebration and that Ryder was supposed to be in New York. That was what felt so off about seeing them together… there. Why would Tori lie about that? And why was Jade thinking so hard about it? Why did she even care?

She was too lost in thought to notice Tori climbing up the stairs and toward the row where Ryder sat. It wasn’t until she was halfway down the aisle, clutching a large drink in one hand and a giant tub of popcorn in the other, that Jade realized that it wasn’t Tori. While she looked almost identical from behind, her face told a different tale. They had similar features, but she wasn’t anywhere near as pretty as Tori. And those cheekbones couldn’t hold a candle to Tori’s.

Fake Tori, as Jade quickly named her, sat down next to Ryder and handed him the tub of popcorn before placing the drink in the cup holder. Jade, still unsure of why she cared so much, continued to watch them. She thought maybe, just maybe, it was a sibling or a cousin, but that was until Ryder brought his arm around Fake Tori, in the same fashion he always did to real Tori, and leaned in for a kiss. 

The conversation from lunch replayed in Jade’s head and it was at that moment that everything finally clicked. Ryder wasn’t in New York, he was there in LA on what looked like a date with a girl that wasn’t his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. 

Jade couldn’t believe her eyes. She was watching Ryder cheat on Tori right in front of her. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed her phone from her lap and swiped through to access her camera. She angled her phone so that the focus was on Ryder and Fake Tori then zoomed in just enough to show who they were. 

The two didn’t stop making out which, as gross as it was for Jade to witness, meant she had enough video proof to out Ryder for being the biggest chizhead on the planet. 

Jade ended the video and opened The Slap app. Her initial instinct, as someone who always filmed embarrassing videos of her friends and got hundreds of views off of them, was to post it for the whole school to see. She navigated through the app, selected to make a new post and added the video to her draft. Her finger hovered over the “send” button as she debated whether or not she should actually post it.

Before she could think too hard on it, the lights in the theater dimmed, indicating the movie was about to begin. Jade quickly hit the “save” button instead, so she could deal with posting later, and shoved her phone back into her purse. 

She wasn’t one to care about following the rules, but she’d been waiting months to see _Valentine’s Dead Day_ and she would be livid if she got kicked out of it.

* * *

Meanwhile, things at Karaoke Dokie were going great. Everyone had taken a turn performing a song of Cat’s choice and it was Tori who now stood on stage singing along to the instrumental version of Katy Perry’s _California Gurls_. 

The rest of the group sat at their usual table, the remnants of their dinners scattered all over, watching as Tori jumped around from one end of the stage to the other. They all danced in their seats, clapping along to the beat and cheering on their very talented friend. Cat danced in place and swayed her arms from side to side in pure joy. 

Midway through the second chorus, she felt her phone buzz in her hand. If there was one thing Cat loved more than celebrating Cat Valentine’s Day, it was texting, especially mass texting, so she always had her phone in the palm of her hands. Without stopping her dancing, Cat checked the notification. 

_Jade West posted a video on The Slap._

She continued to dance in place, singing along to the lyrics as she slid her thumb across the screen, swiping at the notification and opening up the app. 

As the video began to play, Cat’s facial expression went from wonder to surprise in seconds. Her body stopped moving as she stood frozen in place. She knew Jade was at the movies, as sad as that had made her, so she expected some weird video of her about to watch the movie. What she wasn’t expecting was to see Ryder kissing a girl that wasn’t Tori, though the similarities were uncanny. 

“What’s wrong Cat?” Robbie asked. He was the first to notice she stopped dancing. 

“She probably just got her IQ score,” Rex said.

Robbie glared at him and exclaimed, “Hey! Not nice!”

Cat looked over at Robbie, shock written all over her face. “Did you see what Jade posted?” she asked.

She figured everyone else had received the notification too, and they had, but no one else had their phone out. They were all too focused on Tori’s performance. 

Robbie just shook his head. André and Beck watched Cat curiously, both no longer dancing either. 

“Check your phones,” Cat said, her voice in a sad tone. 

In slight synchronicity, the three of them picked up their phones from where they laid on the table and viewed Jade’s notification. 

The room went silent for a second after Tori finished her song, then the crowd erupted into cheers for her. Everyone clapped except her friends who sat quietly around the table, cell phones out in front of them, watching her boyfriend get up close and personal with someone that wasn’t her.

Tori jumped off stage, handed the DJ the mic, and walked over toward the table. She knew she slayed the performance, but her smile faded as she noticed all her friends sitting on their phones. 

“Oh come on! Not even one clap?” she asked as she neared them. 

“Um, Tori,” André began nervously, “That was a great performance and all but…”

He looked at his phone then at the rest of the group almost as if to say, “ _a little help here!"_

“You should check your phone, Tori,” Beck said, breaking the now awkward silence. 

Tori eyed them suspiciously. It wasn’t like them to act so weird and dubious. She reached for her phone in her back pocket and pulled it out. Before she could bring it up to look at it, Cat stood up and threw her arms around her. 

“I’m so sorry, Tori!” she said.

“What? What happened?” Tori asked. Cat’s grip was tight on her and she couldn’t get her arms up to even look at her phone. “Did Riverdale get canceled?” 

“No, Ryder ch—” Cat began to say, but was quickly interrupted by a hand covering her mouth. 

It was Beck. He pulled her off of Tori and held her back, even as she licked his hand in protest.

“Stop Cat,” he argued, “she needs to see if for herself.”

Cat relaxed in his arms. He lifted his hand off of her mouth slowly, watching her to make sure she didn’t try to say anything again. When she didn’t, he let her go completely. 

“See what?” Tori asked. With her arms finally free, she brought her phone up closer to her face and looked at her screen. She had a few notifications, mostly a series of texts from Trina, her sister, that she couldn’t read because it only showed the preview, and one from The Slap. 

_Jade West posted a video on The Slap._

She swiped her finger across Jade’s notification first, figuring that was what everyone was acting weird about. The app took a few seconds to load, which under these circumstances, felt like an eternity. 

“This better not be another video of her listing off the most annoying things about me because I—” 

Tori cut herself off as the video started to play. It was definitely not of Jade talking crap about her, though now she wished it was. 

The video was about fifteen seconds long, but all she had to see were the first five, and that was more than enough. She swiped out of the app and checked her messages. They were all Trina asking for her to call her, saying she was worried and that she’d seen the video on The Slap. 

Tori felt a tidal wave of emotions crash into her as she stood frozen on the Karaoke Dokie floor. She felt betrayal, anger, sadness, but most of all, she was starting to feel numb. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she bit her bottom lip to try and stop herself from crying. This wasn’t the place to break down. 

She forgot about the rest of the group, who stood quietly around the table watching her, waiting for her to say something, but there was nothing for her to say. 

“I’m so sorry, Tori,” Cat repeated.

And with that, Tori was gone.


	2. I've learned from the pain, I turned out amazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sincere apologies can be hard to come by, and Tori waits for Jade's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from thank u, next by Ariana Grande (hehe).

The one good thing about finding out her boyfriend cheated on her on a Friday night, was that there was no expectation and no fear of having to see him the next day or the one after that, and Tori was grateful for it.

She spent the entirety of what to her felt like a long and agonizing weekend, locked up in her bedroom. She didn’t answer a single call or text and turned off all notifications from The Slap. She hardly looked at her phone—or any other electronic device for that matter—in that entire sixty hour time span. 

Her friends tried multiple times to get a hold of her, even Jade via text after sneakily getting Tori’s number from Beck’s phone, but no one got a response back and Trina turned them all away at the door when they tried to stop by. She at least informed them that Tori would be okay, she just needed time. 

Trina was the only person Tori spoke to all weekend. She was the only person home besides herself, since their parents were away on a ten day trip in Europe. Even then, her communications with her were minimal. Trina would come to her room, drop off some food and say something to cheer her up, but then she’d leave. As much as she wanted to be there for her little sister, she knew Tori could use some space to deal with things as she preferred. 

Tori wasn’t the type of person who hurt so easily, she was pretty resilient, but this was hard. She wasn’t just going through a silly break up, she was grappling with the fact that someone she cared about, someone she thought she may love, could violate her trust and leave her feeling so… worthless. 

And Tori definitely needed the time alone. She needed to cry it out, to lay motionless in the center of her bed, covers up to her neck, and just let the tears stream down her face. If she didn’t take the time to hurt now, she would have to eventually, and she wasn’t going to do it at school with everyone watching.

By late Sunday evening, Tori was debating whether or not she should skip the upcoming school week. She had no interest in going back to face Ryder, who she knew would try to talk to her in an attempt to clear the air. But she had said her piece when she texted him on the way out of Karaoke Dokie, tears streaming down her face as she informed him that she’d seen the video and that they were through. Immediately after, she blocked his number and removed him from her profile on The Slap. 

Tori didn’t want to face Jade either, who posted the video for everyone to see. She felt so blindsided by what she did. How could she do that to her? 

With Trina’s help and encouragement—two things she hardly ever got from her—Tori found the strength to get up for school on Monday morning. She wasn’t okay yet, not by any means, but she was ready enough. 

Trina pulled into their normal parking spot, a little later than usual since it took some slight convincing to get Tori out the door, and turned the engine off. Tori, who was usually out of the car before Trina could even pump the brakes, sat silent in the passenger seat.

“Do you want me to walk in with you?” Trina asked. She wasn’t always so caring, unless it was about herself, but she knew her little sister was suffering.

“No, it’s okay,” Tori said. She looked at herself in the sun visor mirror and sighed. Today would be a long day, but she could get through it. At least that was what she had to keep telling herself. 

Trina gave her a reassuring smile. “Have a good day, Tori,” she said.

Tori just nodded. She knew it would be impossible to have even a decent day, but she’d try. “Thanks, Trina,” she said as she opened the car door.

The walk from the car to her locker felt miles long. Everyone looked at her as she passed, but she kept her head down, eyes fixed on the ground to guide her and to avoid any of the growing stares. She knew they all knew, they all found out Friday evening, same time as she did. 

Just as she had expected, her friends were gathered around her locker waiting for her. André stood leaning against her neighboring locker, Beck beside him. They both faced the opposite direction with their backs turned to the entrance. Cat, Robbie, and of course, Rex, stood across from them, but Jade was nowhere to be seen. 

“Tori!” Cat nearly yelled. She was the first to spot her entering the building. 

If every student’s attention wasn’t already focused on her, it was now. She felt a sudden urge to turn around, push past the double doors and run straight home without even thinking of stopping. But it was too late, and all she could do was trudge over to where her friends stood. 

“Tori, hey,” André said. He looked at her with concern, his lips forming a soft smile that held more sympathy than joy.

“Hey guys,” Tori mustered out. She walked between her friends and opened up her locker. 

The rest said their hellos, but no one said much of anything after that. It was weird and uncomfortable, and Tori felt herself missing the safety of her bed and her covers. _“Why did I decide to come to school today?”_ she thought.

She took her time exchanging the notebooks and history textbook in her big brown bag, for a binder and her songbook from her locker. Just as she closed it shut and draped the bag’s strap over her shoulder, Cat broke the awkward silence.

“I saw Ryder this morning,” she said. All eyes shifted from Tori to Cat. 

“I stared him down and stepped on his foot like this,” she said as she stepped hard onto the floor, like she was squishing a bug, “you shoulda seen his face.”

Cat broke out into her infamous laugh and the rest of the group laughed awkwardly. 

Tori forced a small smile. She hadn’t even been at school for more than five minutes, and there was already a mention of his name. She could’ve gotten mad, but she didn’t. She knew Cat’s heart was in the right place. “Thanks,” she said, placing a hand on Cat’s shoulder. 

“Anyway,” André said, trying to prevent any further tension, “we should head over to Sikowitz’.”

They all nodded in agreement and started to walk in the direction of their first period class, which they all had together. Tori followed, but as they rounded the corner, something made her stop in her tracks. From her peripheral, she could see a familiar figure standing across the hall, dressed in all black, and reaching into the scissor-clad locker. 

“You all go ahead,” she said, looking over at the group who walked a few steps ahead of her, “I’ll meet you in there.” 

“You sure?” André asked. He stopped walking and looked at Tori, the same flash of worry on his face from before. 

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” she assured him. 

André nodded. That was enough for him. He turned around and joined the rest of the group as they walked away.

Tori didn’t give herself time to think. She knew if she did, chances were she’d chicken out. Instead, she walked over to Jade, anger building up in the pit of her stomach with every step. She didn’t realize how upset she was with her until she stood in front of her locker, her face hidden behind its door. 

“Jade,” she said, a slight hint of anger in her voice. 

“What?” Jade retorted. She slammed her locker shut and turned to look at Tori, her blue-green eyes tearing into her. She didn’t care who they were or why they did it, she didn’t like to be spoken to like that, ever.

Tori, noticing that people were now starting to look at them and listen in, grabbed Jade by the wrist and pulled her across the hall toward the janitor’s closet.

“Hands off, Vega,” Jade snarled as Tori closed the door behind them, her other hand was still wrapped around Jade’s wrist. 

Tori let go of her and stepped back. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She hadn’t thought any of this through, and now the adrenaline she felt seconds before was dying off. 

Jade stood in front of her, arms folded across her chest, a studded brow raised, and her lips pursed in annoyance. “Why am I here?” she asked. 

She made a move to leave, but Tori sidestepped, blocking her path toward the door. The action made Jade stop, not just because Tori was impeding her from leaving, but because she’d never seen her stand her ground like that. It was unexpected and impressive.

“You owe me an apology,” Tori demanded, taking a step forward and inching closer to Jade, who didn’t even flinch. 

She just smirked and said, “Actually, I don’t owe you anything.”

Tori’s face was stoic, even as she felt a wave of tears well up. Why did she think she could handle a conversation with Jade West right now? 

“Why would you do that, Jade?” she asked, her voice trembling as the tears she held back began to slowly fall.

“Do what?” Jade questioned. 

Tori wiped the few tears that cascaded down her cheeks and said, “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“You could just say thank you, you know,” Jade shrugged. 

“Stop acting like what you did was okay,” Tori demanded, raising her voice. 

Jade scoffed. She really didn’t like when people spoke to her like that, and she sure as hell didn’t like it coming from Tori. 

“Oh, you’re really going to yell at _me_? Like this is my fault?” She asked.

Tori’s eyes grew wide in surprise. “You posted that video!” she exclaimed. 

“So what? If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be dating that idiot,” Jade defended, pointing her index finger at Tori. 

Even though posting the video was an accident, Jade wasn’t going to apologize for it. She only meant to save it, to maybe post it later or just send it directly to Tori. She decided on the latter as she walked out of the movie, but she was too late. Her phone was full of notifications from The Slap app and calls and texts from her friends wondering why she’d post that. But Jade West wasn’t going to admit that she screwed up, especially not to Tori Vega.

She also wasn’t going to tell her how she grabbed a random unfinished drink after the movie’s conclusion, and dumped it over Ryder’s head before she made her way out of the theater. It served him right for messing with her… friend. 

Tori was quiet, letting her anger subside. In part because Jade had a point, if it wasn’t for her, she’d probably still be with Ryder, living in a blissful lie. But that still didn’t excuse what she did, posting that video for everyone to see was embarrassing and downright mean. 

“You could’ve just sent me the video privately instead of posting it for the whole school to see,” she began, “but no, you wanted the attention, even if it meant hurting a friend.”

“We’re not friends,” Jade reminded her.

Tori’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ shape, but she quickly shut it. This wasn’t breaking news, Jade had made it clear many times before that they weren’t exactly friends, no matter how hard Tori tried to be, but Tori couldn’t help but feel disheartened as she heard those words leave her lips. 

“You’re right, because a friend would never do that to me,” she said. 

“You’re wasting your energy taking this out on me, Vega. I’m not the one who cheated on you.”

The word stung like a thousand bees, and Tori went silent as the video replayed in her head. The sight of her boyfriend _cheating_ on her with someone else was horrifying. She never thought she’d get cheated on—no one ever does—and it felt like a blow to the gut. 

“So, are we done here?” Jade asked, an exasperated expression on her face. 

“Just… just leave me alone,” Tori muttered. 

“Gladly,” Jade said as she stepped around Tori, threw open the closet door in a huff and disappeared into the hallway. 

The door slammed shut on its own, leaving a dejected Tori frozen in place and alone with her thoughts. That wasn’t how she expected her conversation with Jade to go, but she had to admit it wasn’t much of a surprise. 

She wasn’t sure how long she spent standing there, replaying the previous conversation in her head, when suddenly the morning bell rang. She contemplated leaving and going home, but she couldn’t afford to miss her classes, even if it meant having to see Jade in first period.

Tori took her time walking from the janitor’s closet to Sikowitz’ classroom. She was already late, what did it matter if she tacked on a few more minutes to prolong it. 

“Oh hello, Toro, glad you could join us,” Sikowitz said when Tori opened the door to the classroom. He stood in front of the class, a coconut with a straw in one hand as he waved with the other. 

Everyone turned around to look at Tori, except Jade whose attention was suddenly consumed by a poster on the wall. Tori made an effort to avoid any and all eye contact from her classmates, including her friends, as she took a seat in an empty chair in the far back, opposite from where Jade sat. The further from her, the better.

Sikowitz continued on with his lesson for the day, but Tori missed most of it. She was far too preoccupied sulking in her seat and wishing that time could skip forward to the weekend.

* * *

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Tori managed to avoid any interactions with Ryder, despite the fact that they crossed paths twice, and Jade, who seemed just as eager to ignore her. 

Keeping away from Jade was mostly easy, but it meant she had to keep her distance from her friends as well. As a result, she only saw them in passing between periods and in the classes she shared with them. The hardest part, however, was avoiding lunch at the Asphalt Café, where Jade would definitely be. So Tori skipped lunch each day, opting to spend the hour alone in the music room practicing the piano instead.

Jade noticed Tori’s absences as the week went on and deduced that she was the reason behind them. Not like she was bothered by it, she couldn’t really care less, but a very tiny part of her couldn’t help but feel remorseful for the situation. 

On Friday afternoon, while everyone was at lunch, Jade sat alone in her Scriptwriting classroom. Just before the bell rang, her teacher had informed her and the other students of a nationwide film festival and competition that was accepting student produced films and screenplays. 

While Jade mostly preferred to write scripts for stage productions, she couldn’t deny this was a great opportunity. Not only did the winner receive a nice monetary reward, to the tune of $1,000, but they would also have their work shown to notable screenwriters. That alone had Jade hooked. 

So, instead of meeting her friends for lunch, she stayed back and started writing her potential screenplay. She had this recurring idea circulating in her head, which she’d been meaning to write for weeks, but she never put it down on paper. Now was the perfect time, and the words just poured out of her like a flood.

The peace and quiet of the empty room helped keep her focused, and by the time she realized lunch was almost over, she had already written a good portion of the opening scene. Satisfied with her progress, she decided to find a good stopping point and join her friends for the last fifteen minutes of lunch. 

As she left the classroom and started to walk in the direction of the Asphalt Café, she heard the sound of a piano coming from the music room down the hall. Hearing music at Hollywood Arts wasn’t uncommon, people would sing and play instruments at any point of the day, it was totally normal. But what caused Jade to stop in place as she walked toward her destination wasn’t the piano, it was the familiar voice that sang along with it. 

“ _You say I’m crazy, cause you don’t think I know what you’ve done_ ,” the voice rang through the hall. 

Jade’s feet had a mind of their own as they moved, leading her away from the café and toward the source of the music. She wasn’t sure why she was drawn to it, especially when she knew who it was, but that didn’t stop her. 

“ _But when you call me baby, I know I’m not the only one_.”

Unable to ignore her curiosity, she walked over to the door and looked through the small rectangular window. Inside the room, Tori sat with her back toward the door, stroking the keys and playing a semi-familiar song. It was one Jade had previously heard once or twice, probably as a result of Cat and Tori who liked to play their music when the group hung out.

“ _You’ve been so unavailable, now, sadly, I know why_ ,” Tori sang.

Jade looked on from the door. Even though she couldn’t see Tori’s face, she knew she was crying. There was such raw emotion in the way she sang.

“ _Your heart is unobtainable_ ,” she continued to sing through tears, “ _even though Lord knows you kept mine._ ”

Tori, too consumed by her emotions, stopped playing and pulled back. Slowly, she lowered the fallboard to cover the keys and swung around on the piano stool. 

Jade could see her tear-lined face now, and the way her upper lip quivered when a fresh set of tears broke through. She’d seen Tori upset before, she’d even seen her cry a few times, but she’d never seen her so morose. It wasn’t a common reaction for her, but Jade felt guilty.

With no warning, Tori stood up and picked up her brown bag from the floor. She walked toward the door and pushed it open with a stronger force than usual. Jade, who didn’t have enough time to hide, stepped away from the door just in time to avoid a concussion. 

She was lucky Tori went the opposite direction, or she’d have to explain why she was, technically, spying on her. That was a conversation she was happy to avoid. 

* * *

Later that night, Jade went out for a much needed drive around her neighborhood. It started off as a way to clear her mind, which had been running a thousand miles a minute since she saw Tori crying in the music room, but a few stop signs and a couple turns later, she was driving in the direction of Tori’s house. 

She didn’t have a plan, and she really had no idea what she’d even say when she got there, but she knew she had to do this. She wasn’t the type to dish out apologies, nor was she the type who broadcasted her mistakes, but even she had a heart, somewhere in there, and she knew talking to Tori was the right thing to do. 

Five minutes later, she pulled into Tori’s driveway and cut the engine. She picked up her phone from where she usually kept it when she drove—in the cup holder between the seats. She sent a quick message to her friends letting them know she couldn’t make it to bowling night, then closed out of it. 

Giving herself no time to take back her decision, she stepped out of the car, shut the door behind her, and clicked her alarm. As she followed the illuminated path that led to the front door, she felt a chill run down her spine. She wasn’t sure if to attribute that to the weather, or a sudden burst of nerves. 

But, it was a chilly night in Los Angeles, one of the coldest nights the city had seen all month, and Jade had not prepared for that. She was still dressed in the same outfit she wore to school—a black, worn out Nirvana t-shirt, black ripped jeans and her black combat boots. She definitely blamed it on the weather. 

When she got to the door, she didn’t hesitate. She reached forward, rang the doorbell, and stepped back, anxiously running a hand through her raven-colored hair as she waited. 

Inside the house, Tori was alone. She sat wrapped in a blanket on the couch furthest from the door with a book in her hand. She was so engrossed by the story she was reading, that the sound of the doorbell ringing caused her to flinch and almost fall off the couch. 

She wasn’t expecting anyone. Her parents were still away on vacation, Trina was at some random party, and her friends had all gone out bowling. She’d been invited, courtesy of Cat’s mass text, but she turned it down, she still wasn’t ready to hang out yet. 

Taking her time, Tori got up from the couch and threw aside her blanket. She slid a bookmark between the pages of her book, closed it, and placed it on the coffee table. She hoped whoever was behind the door would make it quick, the story was just getting interesting. 

She walked the short distance from the couch to the door and swung it open. Her eyes grew wide in surprise as they settled on Jade. “ _What could she possibly be doing here?_ ” she thought. 

Jade stood on the doorstep, eyes scanning Tori from head to toe. She wasn’t in her usual school attire, all vibrant and girly. Instead she was dressed in loungewear—grey sweatpants and an oversized red sweatshirt with “USC” written on the front in large, yellow font. She wore her glasses too, something she’d only ever do at home. 

Although she hated to admit it, Jade kind of liked Tori with glasses. She’d even venture to say she looked cute in them. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she quickly shoved it into the depths of her brain. _“That can never happen again,”_ she scolded herself. 

“Well, are you going to let me in?” she asked after standing awkwardly in front of Tori for what felt like an eternity. 

Tori stepped to the side and pulled the door with her, giving Jade space to walk in. “Why are you here?” she asked as she closed the door behind them. 

“Why, to braid each other’s hair and paint our nails, of course,” Jade said sarcastically in the voice she used to imitate Tori, “What does it look like I’m doing here?” she added, her voice normal.

Tori huffed and reached for the door. “Look, Jade, I’ve had a really bad week so unless you’re here to apologize for posting that video,” she began, opening the door again and pointing outside, “get out.”

Jade smirked, her studded brow raised in amusement. Normally, she’d find that kind of attitude blood boiling, but this time, she’d let it slide. She opened her mouth to speak, but Tori beat her to it.

“And for the hundredth time, I don’t TALK LIKE THAT,” Tori added, emphasizing the last three words. 

Jade threw her hands up in defense and let out a soft laugh. “Alright, chill, I come in peace,” she promised. 

Tori eyed her suspiciously as she slowly closed the door again. Jade took that as a sign to make herself comfortable, so she walked over to the couch closest to the door and sat down. 

“So, why are you here?” Tori repeated her previous question. She didn’t move from where she stood by the door. She couldn’t get too comfortable with Jade around, even if she promised to be civil.

“Because we need to talk,” Jade answered. 

Tori shook her head and sighed. “I don’t have anything to say to you, Jade.”

“But I do,” Jade began, looking down at her black-painted nails in an attempt to avoid making eye contact with Tori, who was looking straight at her, “I’m here to apologize.”

Jade felt uncomfortably vulnerable with her admission. She was treading in uncharted waters. It was one thing to admit what she did was wrong, it was another to apologize for her actions, but doing so to Tori Vega? It was like a scene straight out of _The Twilight Zone._

“You’re actually apologizing to me?” Tori asked. She wasn’t even sure she heard her right.

“Yes, but if you ever tell anyone about this—”

“You’ll kick my ass, I know,” Tori interrupted, rolling her eyes. She was used to the empty threats by now. 

Jade smirked. That was the first time she’d ever heard Tori curse. “Actually I was going to say I’ll deny it,” she said with a shrug, “but I like that better.”

“Alright, let’s hear it then,” Tori said as she walked from the door to the couch, taking a seat where she previously sat before Jade’s arrival. She sounded defeated, it was subtle but Jade definitely noticed. 

“Hear what? I already apologized.”

“No, you didn’t,” Tori said, tucking her right foot under her leg and shifting her body to face Jade, “You said you’re here to apologize, but I haven’t actually heard a single apology.”

“I’m… sorry,” Jade said slowly, almost as if those two words together had never left her lips.

“For?” Tori asked, an eyebrow raised. 

“Can’t I just say I’m sorry and leave it at that?” she asked, dropping her shoulders in frustration. 

“No, that’s not how you apologize.”

Jade groaned as she picked up the maroon throw pillow next to her and shoved her face into it. Leave it to Tori to make this already embarrassing situation a hundred times worse. 

She slowly brought the pillow down to her lap and turned to look at Tori, their eyes meeting in the silence. “I’m sorry that I posted that video for everyone to see,” she said genuinely. 

Tori nodded and smiled. It was a start, she’d admit, but she needed more than that. “Mhm and?” she asked. 

“And? What more do you want from me?”

Tori just cocked her head to the side. “And?” she asked again. 

“And… I’m sorry I didn’t just send it privately,” Jade added, tossing the pillow aside. 

“And?”

Now Jade was getting irritated. There was only so much she could take before she’d reach her annoyance threshold. “What do I possibly have to say sorry for now?” she questioned. 

“Nothing,” Tori shrugged, “I just wanted to see if I could get you to apologize for the million other things you’ve done to me since I started at Hollywood Arts.”

With no warning, Jade picked up the pillow she had just set aside and eyed Tori mischievously. “You wish, Vega,” she said through a laugh as she tossed it in her direction. 

Sensing what was coming, Tori managed to dodge the pillow and glared at Jade in return. “What was that for?” she asked. There was no hint of anger in her voice, in fact, there was a slight playful intonation. 

Jade shrugged, throwing herself back into the couch. “I don’t know,” she said, “you were starting to annoy me.” 

The tension between them had finally died out and the two sat in comfortable silence. Being alone together was rare and weird, but Jade felt oddly comfortable in Tori’s presence. Not like she was going to make a habit of it or anything, but for now it would do. 

“You got any coffee?” she inquired.

“Not brewed, but I can make some,” Tori offered. When Jade nodded, she stood up and walked over to the kitchen. 

In their silence, she’d been wondering if Jade was going to try to make an exit immediately following her apology, but she was glad that she didn’t. It hadn’t dawned on her until Jade showed up unannounced, that she could really use the company, even if it was hers.

“I’ll take it strong,” Jade ordered from the couch. 

“You’ll take what you get,” Tori said as she reached into the cabinet above and pulled out the coffee grounds. 

As she prepared the coffee maker for brewing, her mind wandered off. With all of the commotion from before, she hadn’t even considered that Jade was supposed to be with their friends bowling tonight. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be bowling?” she asked, adding the last of the coffee grounds into the filter. 

“Technically, yes,” Jade answered, standing up from the couch and walking toward where Tori stood in the kitchen, “did I want to go? No.” 

There was no way she was going to tell her that she ditched their friends to talk with her instead. She still had a reputation to uphold. 

Tori finished prepping the coffee maker and pressed the button to start the brewing process. She turned to face Jade, who was leaning back against the kitchen island next to her, her hands resting on the countertop. 

“Thank you, Jade,” she said, taking a step closer to her. 

Jade held a perplexed look on her face. “For?”

“Coming here instead,” Tori said, looking Jade right in the eyes and offering her a soft smile. 

Being this close to Tori and staring directly into her brown eyes, let Jade see how much she was still hurting. “Are you okay?” she asked. It was genuine, unexpected, and probably the first time she’d ever asked her. 

“Kind of,” Tori admitted, “but I think I'll be alright.”

“Cool,” Jade nodded awkwardly. Connecting emotionally with others wasn’t her strong suit, mostly because she usually didn’t care enough to make an effort.

A devilish smile spread across Tori’s face and Jade eyed her skeptically. “Will you give me a hug?” she asked, opening her arms out to her. 

“No, no,” Jade responded before Tori could even finish. She defiantly crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.

Tori kept her arms extended, shimmying her shoulders and wiggling her fingers invitingly. “Oh, come on, you owe me,” she pled. 

“Fine, but don’t you dare tell anyone about this!” Jade demanded. She huffed as she threw her arms out reluctantly and stepped forward, letting tanned arms wrap around her neck. 

Closing the small gap between them, Jade brought her arms around Tori and held her close. They stayed like that for a split second, just long enough to both consider how calming it felt to be in that embrace.

“Wow, I needed that,” Tori admitted as they pulled back. 

“And I need coffee,” Jade said, straightening out her t-shirt, as if hugging Tori had caused it to wrinkle. 

With a delighted smile on her face, Tori turned around and set out to serve their coffee. She grabbed a couple mugs from the cabinet and placed them on the counter. She picked up the carafe from the coffee maker and filled Jade’s mug first, then added the remainder to her own. 

“Two sugars, no creamer, right?” Tori asked, handing Jade her mug and two sugar packets.

“Yeah, how do you know?” 

“You always yelled at Beck when he got the order wrong,” Tori laughed, “which was a lot, it seemed.”

“Guys don’t pay attention to detail,” Jade said, rolling her eyes at the memory. If there was one thing Beck couldn’t do well in their relationship, it was getting her a decent cup of coffee. 

The mention of guys made Tori cringe. For the first time in a week, Jade had, inadvertently, helped her forget about Ryder and what he'd done to her. 

Jade noticed Tori’s mood change as she emptied out the contents of the packets into her coffee. “Vega, do you know what the best way to get over a guy is?” she asked. 

“...get under a new one?” Tori answered, somewhat unsure. 

“What? No! Wait, did you and Ryder—” Jade began then paused and shook her head, trying to get rid of that disgusting thought, “you know what? Nevermind.”

“No,” Tori answered what she knew Jade was asking. 

“You two never…” Jade trailed off. Again, not an image she’d want to imagine, but curiosity killed the cat and whatnot. 

“Nope! And I’m glad I didn’t,” Tori said, taking a sip of her coffee, “that would’ve made this mess even worse.”

“Well, good for you, I guess,” Jade said awkwardly. 

Talking about sex wasn’t something she was shy about—she was definitely not a prude—but the thought of Tori and Ryder together made her want to puke. 

“What about you and Beck?” Tori asked, handing her a spoon after noticing she didn’t have anything to stir the sugar with. 

Not that she was burning with curiosity, maybe just a little, but Tori figured any opportunity to get to know Jade was a good one. She wasn’t exactly an open book. 

“Duh!” Jade said as if the revelation was common knowledge. 

“I didn’t want to assume,” Tori defended. 

“We dated for two years, what did you think we were doing? Knitting?” Jade questioned, stirring her coffee.

That definitely caught Tori off guard and she stifled a laugh. “No, you don’t strike me as the knitting type.”

“Anyway, the answer wasn’t _that..._ it’s to write a song about it,” Jade said. 

They made their way back over to the living room, each taking a seat on the opposite couches.

“You think the best way to get over Ryder is to write a song?” Tori asked. It wasn’t a horrible idea, she was pretty good at turning her feelings into writing, but she wasn’t sure a song alone could help mend her current heartache. 

“Yes, don’t you write songs about literally anything? Like what you had for breakfast this morning?” 

“I don’t write about just anything,” Tori defended, “it’s a good idea and all, but I don’t think just writing a song is going to help me.”

“You want to get over Ryder, right?” Jade asked and Tori nodded. 

“And you want to make him pay for how he hurt you?” she continued. 

At that, Tori had to stop and think before she answered. This was Jade talking, her ideas of revenge were far more gruesome than anything Tori could ever come up with. “Well, yes, but… I don’t want to physically hurt him,” she said.

“No one is talking about anything physical,” Jade promised, “though if it were me in your situation that would’ve already been taken care of.”

“Jade, your point?” 

“Right. If you really want to make that asshole pay, then you’re going to write a kickass break up anthem and we’re going to make sure he hears it,” Jade said, a proud grin on her face. She loved conjuring up plans to get back at people, especially if it meant embarrassing idiots like Ryder Daniels.

“We? You’re going to help me?”

“Do you want my help or not, Vega?” Jade said, standing up and putting her mug down on the coffee table, “I can leave if you want.”

“No, please, stay,” Tori requested. 

Jade grabbed her coffee and sat back down, not really interested in leaving yet anyway. She waited as Tori considered her plan. 

“Okay, let’s do it,” Tori said after thoughtful consideration. 

“You start writing,” Jade said, a sly smirk on her face as she pointed her index finger between Tori and herself, “and I’ll start plotting.” 

It was the first time in a week that Tori genuinely smiled again. 


	3. I know I'm being bitter, but I'ma drag you under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the help of her friends, Tori makes sure Ryder gets what he deserves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from Beggin' on Your Knees by Victorious Cast (ft. Victoria Justice).

Monday morning came by faster than Tori anticipated. She awoke half an hour before her alarm, thanks to the atrocious sound of Trina singing along to music while she showered in their connecting bathroom. 

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, and although it would normally irritate her and cause her to throw a pillow over her head to drown out the noise, today, she’d bear it. Come lunch time, she’d be getting back at Ryder for what he did to her, and nothing could dampen her mood, not even Trina’s deafening shrieks. 

The weekend had flown by in the blink of an eye, and Tori spent most of it preparing for Jade’s masterful plan. One second it was Friday night and Tori sat on the same couch as Jade, writing her lyrics while Jade strategized, and the next, it was Sunday evening and only André was over, putting the finishing touches on the song’s melody. 

Tori had looped Robbie, Cat, Beck, and André in on the plan on Saturday morning, although she omitted a few things for Jade’s sake, like the fact that she ditched bowling and spent most of her Friday night helping Tori devise the scheme instead. 

Besides Jade, André was the only one who helped her in advance, the rest of the group would come into play later. Everything was ready, and all Tori needed to do was set the trap.

As the morning light crept into her room through the blinds, Tori finally opened her eyes. She threw back the covers and sat up. _“Today will be a good day,”_ she told herself. It was the first time in over a week that she felt even remotely confident. 

“Tori, are you up yet?” Trina asked, speaking loudly over her music and banging on the bathroom door that connected to Tori’s room. 

“How can I not be? You wake the dead with your singing, Trina,” she shouted back.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” Trina lied, “the shower is all yours if you need it.” 

But she didn’t. The Vega sisters had the same morning routine since Tori joined Trina at Hollywood Arts. Trina was always up first and in the shower before Tori even opened her eyes. She had a more intricate process to get ready, which involved a rigorous beauty regimen, multiple outfit changes, and at least thirty minutes to put on makeup, while Tori only required enough time to change, brush her teeth, comb out her hair, apply some makeup, and eat breakfast. Unlike Trina, who woke up the entire neighborhood with her morning showers, Tori preferred to take hers at night. 

Moving at her normal pace, Tori swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching her arms out to shake off the sleep. She walked over to her closet to search for an outfit. It needed to be something that would get Ryder’s attention.

After a few minutes sifting through her clothes, she settled for a navy lace tank top, dark blue skinny jeans, and a black leather jacket to cover up. The last thing she needed was to get detention. 

As she changed out of her pajamas and into her outfit, she felt a mixture of nerves and excitement course through her veins. It was a different sensation than what she’d been feeling before.

For the past week and a half, she’d been riding a rollercoaster of emotions. First, she felt practically paralyzed with sadness, then she was fuming, angry at Ryder, angry at Jade, and angry at herself. By Friday night she was doing better, and over the weekend she saw her sadness and anger subside, replaced mostly by the feeling of contentment.

It’d be a lie if she said Jade had nothing to do with her mood change, at least at first. In just one night, she helped get her out of her funk. She was happy again, smiling and even laughing. She started to feel more and more like herself.

Working alone with Jade was different than what she had imagined. They got along surprisingly well, aside from some jokes and comments on Jade’s behalf, but what else would she expect? 

If there was one thing Tori learned about her in the process, it was that she actually sort of cared about her, even if she didn’t normally show it… or even want to admit it. Why else would she show up on a Friday night to apologize when she could just call or wait to find her at school? And why would she choose to stay and help? Compassion wasn’t exactly her M.O. 

After changing, she made her way over to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, and applied some light makeup—she liked to keep it subtle.

When she reentered her room, she heard her cell phone’s text tone go off. She picked it up from her nightstand, unplugged it from the charger, and checked the notifications. She had an unread message from Jade.

**Jade✂️:** _Ready?_

_Born ready!_

She watched the three dots pop up as Jade typed and then they disappeared. A few seconds later they returned before another message came through. 

**Jade✂️:** _Don’t make me regret helping you 🙄_

Tori rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she expected Jade to soften up just because they spent a few hours alone together.

_You won’t 😊 See you soon!_

Not expecting to get a response back, she set her phone to vibrate and slid it into her back pocket. She inched toward her desk and picked up her completed homework assignments, slipped them into a folder, and stuffed it into her bag. 

Trina was already in the kitchen when Tori came down the stairs. She was standing in front of the toaster, her attention on her phone as she scrolled through The Slap app. 

“Good morning,” Tori said as she entered the kitchen, causing Trina to jump in surprise. 

“Geez, you scared me,” Trina said, her free hand over her heart to feel the rapid palpitations. 

“Sorry, Treen,” Tori said apologetically, “I thought you heard me coming.”

Trina shook her head and looked down at the toaster, waiting for her toast to pop up. “I only put one slice in there, so if you want any you gotta make it yourself."

“It’s okay, I was just going to grab an apple."

The toast popped out of the toaster, causing both girls to flinch. “Aw come on!” Trina whined. “Who keeps leaving this at such a high setting?”

Looking over Trina’s shoulder, Tori could see the top half of a burnt toast sticking out. “You know how dad loves his food extra crispy,” she said through a laugh, “maybe next time you should check before you do it.”

“That is disgusting! I can’t eat that.”

Tori rolled her eyes, leaned over Trina and picked up the burnt toast. “I’ll eat it then,” she said. Nothing could ruin her day, not even burnt toast for breakfast. 

Trina looked at Tori questioningly, but shrugged it off as she grabbed a new slice of bread from the bag and placed it in the slot. This time, she made sure to lower the heat setting. 

Once Trina had a chance to properly make and eat her breakfast, they gathered their things and made their way over to her car, which was parked in the driveway. 

Tori couldn’t hide the obvious grin on her face as she opened the passenger door, and Trina was quick to notice it. It was the first time in over a week that she’d seen her smiling.

“What’s got you in such a good mood today?” she asked, observing her as she walked around to the driver’s side.

“You’ll see,” Tori said as she got into the car and closed the door behind her. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her sister, or that she didn’t want her to know about the plan, but Trina had a habit of accidentally ruining things when she tried to help, so this time around, she preferred to keep her in the dark.

Trina opened the driver side door, but didn’t immediately get in. She reached into her bag, pulled out her pocket mirror, and inspected her makeup. 

“You’re not trying to get back with Ryder, are you?” she asked, closing the pocket mirror and popping her head into the car to look at Tori. 

“No! Now can we go?” Tori asked anxiously. The first part of the plan would only work if Tori got to school before Ryder. She didn’t need Trina moving at a snail’s pace and causing them to get there late.

“Don’t rush me!” Trina exclaimed as she shoved the mirror back into her bag and got into the driver’s seat. She wasn’t sure why Tori was in such a hurry to get to school, when exactly one week ago she was desperately trying to skip it.

* * *

When Trina pulled into her reserved spot in the student parking lot, Tori shot out the door before she could even shift the gear into park.

“Have a good day!” Tori called over her shoulder as she rushed out of the car and practically ran toward the school’s entrance. 

As she crossed through the Asphalt Café on her way to the main building, she paused in her strides when she noticed Cat, who sat alone at an empty table, giving her a thumbs up, a signal indicating that Ryder hadn’t arrived yet.

Having dated him for as long as she did, Tori had some useful information that helped in the planning process, like how he always showed up to school a few minutes before the bell would go off. 

Cat’s sole responsibility—as designated by Jade—was to keep a lookout for him and his red Camaro. Once she’d spot him, she had to notify the group in their text chat. It was the easiest assignment Jade could give her.

With a nod to Cat, Tori continued on her way. She felt a strange déjà vu-like sensation as she walked through the main doors and spotted both Beck and André waiting for her by her locker. Everything about the morning mimicked last Monday, except this time, she wasn’t on the verge of tears and no one around her was staring anymore. 

“Look who finally decided to show up!” André said sarcastically as Tori approached them. 

“What took you so long?” Beck asked. 

Tori stepped between the two of them to access her locker. “Oh, you know,” she began as she entered her combination and pulled it open, “just Trina being Trina.”

André nodded understandingly and chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?”

“You know, Tori, if you had your driver’s license already you wouldn’t have to depend on your sister for a ride every morning,” Beck stated. 

Tori shot him a glare as she dropped off a few folders and notebooks into her locker. Everyone and their neighbor knew Tori didn’t have her license yet, despite the fact that she was seventeen and well over the age to get one. She failed so miserably at her first driving test, that the thought alone of going back to the DMV traumatized her. 

“Thank you, Captain Obvious, for that wonderful insight,” she replied with an eye roll. 

Beck pursed his lips and gave her a wary look. Noticing his reaction, she flashed him a smile to let him know she was just kidding. Maybe she had spent a little too much time with Jade over the weekend.

“We’re all set, right?” she asked, looking between her two friends. They could criticize her for not having a driver’s license later. 

Beck and André both looked at each other for confirmation then turned back to Tori. 

“All set!” they said in unison.

Tori felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket and pulled it out, just as Beck and André checked theirs. The notification showed a new message from Cat to their ‘Breakfast Club’ group chat. 

**Cat😸:** _The eagle has landed 🦅_

**Jade✂️** : _Just say he’s here Cat_

**Cat😸:** _Kay kay!_

**Cat😸:** _He’s here 👀🚘_

_Wish me luck!_

**Cat😸:** Luck!

Tori closed out of the text chat, clicked her phone off, and slid it back into her pocket. She looked at Beck and André and gestured for them to leave. 

“Good luck,” André said, patting her shoulder reassuringly. 

Beck gave her a thumbs up as he walked away, following closely behind André. They disappeared around the corner, heading in the direction of Sikowitz’ classroom. 

While awaiting Ryder’s entrance, and in an attempt to make herself look busy, Tori pretended to search for something inside her locker. She moved her textbooks and notebooks around, switching their order and then switching them back again.

There was no denying she was nervous, and maybe even a tad bit anxious. She’d done a great job avoiding Ryder the week before, and now she had to put her true feelings aside in order to talk to him. 

As the seconds passed, she felt her anxiety grow, and when her phone vibrated again in her back pocket, she nearly panicked, assuming there was a new development or a potential wrinkle in their plan. She slowly brought out her phone and looked at the screen. It wasn’t an update from the group, thankfully, but a direct text from Jade.

**Jade✂️:** Don’t choke Vega 🤢

Breathing a sigh of relief, Tori looked up and across the hallway, eyes settling on Jade, who stood leaning against the bank of lockers beside hers. She had a smug expression written all over her face and when Tori made eye contact and nodded at her, she winked in return.

For a split second, Tori couldn’t think straight. A fresh wave of panic arose within her, and she swallowed hard. There was also an unfamiliar feeling in her stomach, almost like a flutter. She quickly turned her head and shifted her gaze to the double doors, in part to mask the crimson shade on her cheeks and in part to look out for Ryder. 

There was no time for her to even think about the wink and its possible implications because seconds later, as if on cue, Ryder walked in with his head down, looking at his phone. She quickly scrambled to look busy again, returning her attention to her locker.

Tori knew that in order to get to his first class, Ryder had to walk past her. If there was one thing she could count on to make phase two of the master plan a success, it was that once he saw her, he’d feel compelled to stop and talk to her, much like he had the week before. On each of his previous attempts, she had walked away before he could even open his mouth. This time, however, she didn’t plan to avoid him.

“Tori,” she heard him say softly from behind her, his voice just loud enough to break through the bustling noise of the hallway.

Turning slowly, she felt a flood of emotions wash over her again. The hardest part of the whole thing was having to pretend she wasn’t still hurting, despite doing better, and as much as she wanted to lay into him right then and there, she refrained. This was where her acting skills were put to the test.

“Hi,” she said, drawing in a shaky breath. Her eyes scanned his face, which held an apologetic, but impassive expression.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you, but you keep avoiding me,” he said, his hand tightening around his backpack strap. 

The air around them was thick with a suffocating tension, and Tori knew she had to break it. “I— I just needed time,” she said, looking away from him to keep any tears at bay, “what you did really hurt.”

“I know and I’m sorry,” he said, lifting his hand and placing it on her shoulder. It took every ounce of strength she had to not to shrug it off. 

There were so many things she could say in return, like how an empty apology wasn’t going to cut it, or how she wished she had listened to the faint whispers about him back when he was pursuing her, but instead, she stayed quiet.

“I’m really sorry for what I did, Tori,” he added, his eyes searching hers for any semblance of forgiveness. 

There was a softness to his eyes that Tori once admired, but now, as she looked directly into them for the first time since everything went down, all she saw was deception.

“It’s… it’s okay,” she lied. Pretending to forgive him had to be the most draining part of her act. 

“I know I messed up,” he began, his face softening as his hand moved up to cup her cheek, “but I promise it won’t happen again.”

That was one thing they could both agree on. No matter what he said or did to try and win her back, she was never going to give into him. She would never let him do this to her, and hopefully, with the plan in motion, to another girl ever again. 

Playing it up, Tori put her hand on his and caressed it lightly. “I just want to forget about all of this,” she said. It was the first honest thing she’d told him.

“Me too,” he agreed, running his thumb across her cheek gently. 

_“Gosh, have other girls actually fallen for this chiz?”_ she thought to herself. She could see right through his faux attempts to console her. 

Suddenly, the bell rang, a gentle reminder to Tori that it was time to set the trap. As students around them scattered away, she took Ryder’s hand and pulled it down from her face, giving it a tight squeeze. She leaned forward, lips inches from his ear, and seductively whispered, “Meet me in the black box theater at lunch.”

“You got it,” he said, voice coated with a hint of arousal. 

As she let go of his hand and stepped back, she watched him lick his lips, wiping away a flirtatious smirk. She had to hold back from grimacing in return. It was like everything she once found endearing and attractive, was now just plain repulsive.

“I’ll see you soon,” she said with a small wave as she turned to leave. 

* * *

The time between first period and lunch went by excruciatingly slow, and Tori, who was riddled with anticipation, couldn’t keep her focus off of it. By the time her Advanced Songwriting class came around—her final period before the lunch break—her eyes were practically glued to the clock on the wall, watching the minute hand as it approached the hour. 

Lucky for her, today’s class was basically a free period. After her teacher handed out the assignment for the day, which was to write a song to be performed during their next class, Tori quickly tuned out. She already had a new song, even if she didn’t specifically write it in class.

Instead of writing, and in between her occasional glances at the clock, she thought about the final phase of Jade’s elaborate plan—the song reveal. If someone told her two weeks ago that she’d be conspiring with Jade to take down her then boyfriend, she would’ve never believed it. 

Things were so different then, even though it wasn’t that long ago. She was happy in a relationship she thought was going well. All of her friends supported her and Ryder, well, all of them except Jade, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. It seemed like everything Tori liked, Jade hated. 

But Jade ended up being right in the end, and deep down Tori wished she’d listened, instead of chalking up her comments as her typical snide remarks. In hindsight, there was some truth to the things she would say, like the fact that Ryder could never really keep a girlfriend, or that he was always talking to other girls. 

Tori ignored many signs, and she regretted it, but she saw no point in dwelling in the past. Ryder would get what was coming for him, and soon, she’d be able to move on. 

Getting out of class early to beat Ryder to the theater was easy. When there was fifteen minutes left before the bell rang, Tori and André—who was also in the class—asked for permission to finish their assignment in the black box theater, where they would also “rehearse” the song. Technically, it wasn’t a lie.

The rest of the group managed to get out of their own classes, and they all met up at the theater with some time to spare. It only took Ryder five minutes after the bell rang to make his way over from his Drama class, but thankfully everyone was in place before he arrived.

The theater was set up for a monologue competition to take place in the evening, with chairs lining the back and the empty stage up front, where Tori stood alone. Her eyes were fixed on the set of doors straight ahead from her, anxiously awaiting Ryder.

When he entered, she felt a surge of adrenaline course through her veins like liquid fire. This was the moment she’d been waiting for all day, what she’d been counting down to since she awoke. Maybe the retaliation was a hint too petty, but she didn’t care, Ryder made a fool out of her and broke her heart, all she wanted to do was humiliate him right back.

“Hey baby,” he said merrily as he walked in. There was a certain swagger to his walk, almost prideful, like he knew he’d gotten away with something. 

Tori suppressed an eye roll, forcing a smile in return. She could really do without the pet name, and that god-awful arrogance. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said, her faux smile turning into a real one. And glad she was, just not for the same reasons he imagined. 

“So am I,” he said. The scent of his cologne thickened as he neared, and Tori gagged internally. 

_“Did he really shower in cologne before he came here?”_ she thought to herself. The stench wasn’t that intense when they spoke in the morning. 

Ryder paused in front of her, their bodies inches apart, and leaned forward to kiss her, but she swiftly raised her arms up to his chest to stop him. His intentions were clear as day. 

“Ryder, wait,” she said, gently pushing him away. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, a glimmer of disappointment in his eyes. 

“We should talk first,” she suggested flirtatiously, hands resting on his chest, pushing him back slowly and walking him toward a chair in the front row.

“I thought we already did that,” he said through a frustrated laugh. He stepped back until the back of his knees hit the seat with a thud.

“I just have one more thing to say,” Tori promised, inching backwards toward where she originally stood, “it’ll be quick.” 

He eyed her curiously as she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Are you gonna dance for me baby?” he asked, a cocky grin tugging at his lips. 

“Don’t be a pig, Daniels, you’re on camera,” Jade said cuttingly, appearing from behind the side wing curtains with her red PearPhone in hand, pointing it in his direction. It wasn’t evident to him, but she was live streaming to her profile on The Slap. 

“Wh— what are _you_ doing here?” he asked, a perplexed look creeping across his features.

“Wh— what are you doing here?” Jade repeated in a mocking tone, her facial expression mimicking his. “Say hello to all of Hollywood Arts."

“Tori, what the hell is going on?” he questioned, looking back at his ex-girlfriend who hadn’t moved. 

But she had no intention to verbally answer him, instead, she pressed the play button on her phone and let the room fill with the sound of her song. She took out the microphone she had hidden in her other back pocket and waved it at him. Annoyed, he turned to leave, but froze when he noticed Jade step closer, phone camera still pointing at him. 

“Sit down!” she demanded, motioning to the seat behind him with her free hand. He didn’t have much of a choice but to listen to her, so he did as she instructed. 

“ _You had it all_ ,” Tori began to sing along with the music, her gaze solely on Ryder, _“the day you told me, told me you want me. I had it all, but let you fool me, fool me completely.”_

Jade had switched to recording Tori as she sang, while Ryder, noticing she wasn’t watching him anymore, tried to use that as an opportunity to stand up again. As slick as he thought he was, Jade was slicker. When he got onto his feet, she stretched her free arm out, put her hand on his shoulder, and pushed him back down.

“Sit, dammit,” she mouthed at him and he did as he was told.

_“Yeah I was so stupid to give you all my attention,_ ” Tori continued, pointing her finger at Ryder, _“‘cause the way you played me exposed your true intentions.”_

More and more students tuned into the live stream, many begging in the comments to see Ryder’s reaction. Jade obliged, moving the coverage back to Ryder, who was practically squirming in his seat and fighting hard to avoid Tori’s stare. He nervously looked around the room at all entry points, trying to figure out an exit plan, but everything was covered. Cat and Robbie stood together by the main doors, and Beck and André were on opposite ends of the wings. He had nowhere to go. 

As she neared the chorus, Tori bounced toward him donning an ear-to-ear smile that easily outshined the brightest star on the planet. She swayed her hips to the rhythm of the music, waving her free arm around fluidly with the rest of her body. _“And one day I’ll have you beggin’ on your knees for me,”_ she belted out, inching closer to his face, which burned with a mix of mortification and shock. 

Jade stepped back, allowing herself more space to capture the entire encounter as it went down. Her eyes trailed over to the viewer count in the top right corner of the feed, watching as it went up with every second that passed. She could only imagine the reactions from everyone at the Asphalt Café.

_“Yeah, one day I’ll have you crawling like a centipede,”_ Tori sang, her face mere centimeters from his, causing him to turn away. Satisfied with his displeased reaction, she backed off.

_“You messed with me and messed with her,”_ she sang, pointing between herself and the phone camera, _“so, I’ll make sure you get what you deserve.”_

Ryder sat through the rest of the performance, until she reached the second chorus, at which point he felt he had seen enough. Her message was loud and crystal clear, and he had no intention of staying to be further humiliated.

“I’m out of here!” he said in a huff, stumbling onto his feet and running past Jade, who didn’t bother to stop him. She just kept the camera on him as he staggered toward the back of the theater. His partial meltdown made for great content. 

_“Yeah, one day, you’ll be beggin’ on your knees for me,”_ Tori sang through a smile as Ryder ran out, pushing past Robbie and Cat to disappear through the main doors. 

The music continued on, but she stopped singing. When Jade turned the camera back onto her, she looked into it and waved. “Thanks for tuning in, everybody!” 

While Tori fished for her cell phone to pause the music, Jade ended the live stream, saved it to her profile, and exited out of the app. When she looked up, she saw Tori’s face had lit up like a Christmas tree. 

“I can’t believe we just did that!” Tori exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. Normally that amount of energy was too much for Jade to deal with, but for once, she’d bear it.

Not for long though, since Tori’s excitement knew no bounds, and without a warning she opened her arms toward Jade and enveloped her into a hug, tightly wrapping her arms around her neck. 

“I don’t do hugs, Vega,” Jade protested, but didn’t squirm in her embrace or pull away. She relaxed into it instead, and brought her own arms around Tori’s waist. 

This hug was different than their last, it was longer and far more comforting. It made Jade realize that hugging Tori felt kind of... nice. Of course as soon as the idea crept into her head, she shoved it away just as quickly. She really had to stop thinking like that.

Before Jade and Tori could pull apart, they felt a new set of arms wrap around them.

“That was so much fun!” Cat said enthusiastically as she hugged them. 

Like a domino effect, the rest of the group joined in. Robbie behind Cat, then Beck and André on either side. It was the group hug no one asked for, especially not Jade. 

“You all have three seconds to get off of me,” she warned. “Three…”

“Please don’t count,” Cat begged.

“Two…” Jade continued.

They all pulled apart immediately, no one was safe when Jade West started counting. 


	4. I'm alright with a slow burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sikowitz has a fun, new assignment and Jade and Tori are in for a treat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves.

A month after humiliating Ryder in a performance that went viral, and was the talk of the school for days, things in Tori’s life finally normalized. The breakup was a thing of the past, and with a little over two months left in the semester, she decided she wasn’t going to let a stupid boy ruin the rest of her junior year. 

Everything went back to what it used to be like before she started dating Ryder, including her quasi-friendship with Jade. It was as if their short-lived bonding experience had never existed, much to her unexpected disappointment, but it wasn’t like she didn’t see it coming. 

Their friendship—if you could even call it that—was like a yo-yo, every time Tori thought she’d made progress with her, Jade would do something to strip it all back. That was just their dynamic, whether she liked it or not, and it didn’t seem like anything would ever change it.

As the morning bell rang, signaling the start of first period, Tori and the rest of her Improv class settled into their usual seats and waited for Sikowitz’ arrival. His tardiness was rare, but not out of the ordinary. 

In his absence, the room filled with idle chatter of mounting school assignments and upcoming weekend plans, but that was soon interrupted by a commotion in the back of the room. Everyone turned at the noise, just in time to watch Robbie crash through the door.

“Did you guys hear the good news?” he asked, panting hard like a dog on a hot summer day.

A sea of bewildered eyes stared back at him as he fixed his clothes and adjusted Rex on his arm. Anyone who didn’t know him would think he’d gone mad, but to the class, it was just another day at Hollywood Arts. 

“You got a girlfriend?” Beck guessed, raising a brow suggestively. He shifted to face the front and casually leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his head.

“Ha! Now that would be a miracle!” Rex quipped through a laugh, causing Robbie to put a hand over his plastic mouth. 

“Unfortunately, no,” Robbie said, a frown tugging at his lips. He walked over to an empty chair in the front and took a seat, settling in between Cat and André.

“Hm...” Cat hummed, tapping a finger on her chin as though she was deep in thought. “You’re joining the circus!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and pumping a fist in the air. 

Robbie sighed in defeat and shook his head. “No, Cat, I’m not joining the circus.” 

“Oh, bummer,” Cat said, a wave of disappointment washing over her as she collapsed back onto her chair. 

Jade sat beside Beck in the back of the room, closest to the door, silently inspecting a new pair of scissors on her lap. She wasn’t interested in Robbie’s news, assuming whatever he was bursting at the seams to share was not as thrilling as he led on, but she wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to mess with Tori. Riling her up was such a fun pastime. 

“Tori’s finally dropping out of Hollywood Arts and moving to New York to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a waitress?” she asked, a disinterested tone in her voice. 

Tori spun around in her chair and glared at her. “Do you just sit around in your room and come up with new ways to insult me?”

“Mm no,” Jade began, a wicked grin playing at her lips as she looked up and met Tori’s burning gaze, “but now that you mention it, that sounds like a great new segment for my Slap page.”

“You need a hobby,” Tori retorted, whipping her hair as she turned back to face the front.

“Oh, I have hobbies,” Jade muttered, twirling her scissors around her index finger with skill. 

“Hello! I still have news!” Robbie blurted out, trying to bring the attention back to himself. As everyone knew, once Jade and Tori got going there was no stopping them.

“Will you just say it?” André groaned as he tipped his head back over his chair in frustration. 

Robbie pulled out his cell phone, opened the page he was reading before class, and turned the phone toward the others. “Look! The new PearPhone 11 is set to come out next week!” he announced with a triumphant smile.

“Wow, how riveting. You had me at the edge of my seat,” Jade said, her tone as dry as the air. She was the only one unfazed by the news, as the rest of the group practically jumped out of their seats with excitement. 

“I _have_ to get it!” Tori cried out. 

While all her friends got the latest version—PearPhone XR—at its release, she hadn’t been so lucky. She was stuck with the previous generation and every so often it’d malfunction on her. There was no denying she was due for an upgrade. 

“I hope it comes in baby pink,” Cat squealed.

With all their excitement, nobody but Jade noticed Sikowitz enter the classroom and skip his way over to the white board. He paused to take a sip out of his coconut then turned to look at the class, a beaming smile plastered on his face, which generally meant he had a fun assignment to announce. 

“Okay kids, settle down,” he all but yelled, his voice loud enough to carry over their conversation. He didn’t appear upset, just eager to get on with his lesson. 

As everyone turned their attention away from Robbie and toward the stage, Sikowitz grabbed a dry erase marker and scribbled a few words on the board. “Today’s lesson was inspired by a movie I watched last night,” he said as he wrote. 

“Which one?” Beck asked from the back of the classroom.

Sikowitz spun around, pointed the uncapped marker at him, and replied, “Forrest Gump!”

“Oh, I love that movie!” Cat giddily confessed, absentmindedly combing her fingers through her red hair. “Life is like a box of chocolates,” she quoted, breaking out into a small fit of laughter.

“Ah yes, that brings me to my point,” Sikowitz said, stepping off to the side so the class could get a better view of what he had written. 

“Iconic movie scenes,” Tori read out loud. 

“Well, color me shocked! Miss Sweet Sally Peaches can read!” Jade mockingly cried out in her fake southern accent, earning a soft smack on the arm from Beck. That was enough teasing for one class period. 

Tori bit back her typical response, opting to ignore Jade instead, and kept her focus on the white board. For once, she didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. 

“Who can name some of the most iconic scenes in movie history?” Sikowitz asked as he walked over to the top step of the stage and sat down, placing his coconut beside him. He brought his elbows to his knees, tucked his fists under his chin, and grinned, his excitement as clear as a cloudless sky.

Jade opened her mouth to speak, but he waved his hand to stop her and quickly added, "Not from The Scissoring _._ "

Irritated by his dismissal, Jade rolled her eyes and sank into her seat. She went back to inspecting her scissors and paid partial attention to the rest of the conversation. 

“Titanic!” Cat suggested. “The Notebook!”

“Movie scenes, Cat,” Sikowitz reiterated, an emphasis on the word “scenes.”

Tori cleared her throat and offered her best impression of Ryan Gosling in _The Notebook_. “If you’re a bird… I’m a bird.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere!” Sikowitz exclaimed as he swung his fist forward in victory. “Who else?”

“Here’s Johnny!” Robbie said, his facial expressions moving in the same manner as Jack Nicholson’s in _The Shining_. The accuracy of the impersonation was uncanny.

“Oh! You’re a little too good at that, Robbie,” Sikowitz confessed, shuddering at the performance. 

“Yeah, even I’m scared!” Rex admitted.

“Keep ‘em coming!” Sikowitz encouraged, looking around at the students who hadn’t spoken up yet.

André rose to his feet, stuck the end of a pen in his mouth, and nervously looked off to the side. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” he quoted _Jaws_. 

Sikowitz nodded proudly at him then turned to the rest of the class. “Notice how he even used a prop,” he pointed out. 

“What exactly is the point of all of this?” Jade asked through an exasperated sigh. If she had to watch one more mediocre reenactment, she was going to slam her face with a car door.

“Oh Jade, you’re always so… charming,” Sikowitz said, voice dripping with sarcasm. He picked up his coconut and stood up. “The point of this exercise was to introduce your next assignment.”

“What is it?” Cat asked. Patience wasn’t exactly her strong suit.

“You will be paired up to reenact iconic movie scenes in front of the class,” he explained as he hopped onto the stage. He walked toward the back, dropped off his coconut, and picked up two small boxes that had been sitting on the bookshelf. One held the names of all the students in the class, the other held the various movie scenes he had meticulously chosen. 

“Are we picking partners this time?” André asked, a hint of hope in his voice.

“Oh! Can we pick the scenes too?” Robbie followed up. 

“Nope! Your fate will be decided here,” Sikowitz answered, shaking the boxes in his hands causing the contents to rattle. “Now before we can get to that, let’s talk about the good stuff. Your grade will not only depend on your ability to simply act out the scene, but how you show an understanding of the character’s emotions, and how you convey their body language and expressions.” 

There was a yawn in the back of the class and Sikowitz shook his head before adding, “I guess I should also mention that the top performance will receive an A in the semester final and will be dismissed from the final week of classes."

A few heads shot up with curiosity. Nothing had the class motivated to participate quite like an assignment with a prize. They loved a good competition.

Upon hearing the last piece of information, Jade sat up in her chair with piqued interest. “Way to bury the lede."

“Hm, did that spark your interest, Jade?” Sikowitz asked rhetorically, poking fun at her sudden willingness to engage.

“So, when’s it due?” She asked, ignoring his remark. Now that she was invested, she needed all the facts. 

“Monday,” he replied firmly, fully aware of the protestation that was to follow. 

Just like he had anticipated, the room filled with groans and complaints about an unfair deadline and interrupted weekend plans. He wasn’t bothered by it though, in fact, he found it sort of amusing, like music to his ears.

“Monday?” André asked, eyes wide in surprise. “That’s in three days, teach!”

“We’ll only have the weekend to work on it,” Tori protested.

“Then I guess you better get to work,” Sikowitz said.

“We don’t have partners yet,” Tori pointed out, “or scenes.”

“Ah! I knew I forgot something,” Sikowitz mumbled to himself before he stepped off the stage and walked over to the first row of students. “André, you’ll go first. You’ll pick your partner and your partner will pick your scene,” he instructed, holding out the box that held the names.

André stuck his hand in and moved the slips around before drawing one. “Cat!” he announced.

Sikowitz hopped to the right and held out the box of scenes. Cat reached in and took her sweet time deciding on which slip to take. Eventually, she pulled one out, just before anyone could complain. “E.T. phone home scene,” she read out loud.

“Nice, Little Red!” André cheered, a wave of relief washing over him. Knowing Sikowitz, there was bound to be a romantic scene or two in there, and he didn’t want to be the one stuck with them.

“I’m going to be E.T.,” Cat stated, as though it was fact and André had no choice in the matter. 

“Guess I’m Elliott,” he said with an unbothered shrug. 

Robbie’s turn to pick came next, but unlike André and Cat who took their time, he stuck his hand in the box and immediately drew a name. “Beck,” he revealed, twisting in his seat to look back at his new partner. 

Sikowitz wandered over to Beck and offered him the box of scenes. “Choose your destiny,” he said in a deep baritone. 

Beck extended his arm over his head and dropped his hand in the box, sifting through the remaining options. He picked a slip from the bottom and read it to himself. When he looked up, Robbie was anxiously awaiting his response.

“Luke, I am your father,” Beck quoted _Star Wars_.

It was no secret that Robbie was a _Star Wars_ fanatic and had every film practically memorized. “Oh, we got this!” he said as he leaned over his chair to high five Beck. 

As the two celebrated their pick, Sikowitz pivoted to face Jade. He shook the box of names in front of her face until her hand shot up to halt it. She hesitated to remove it at first, but did so slowly. She reached in and wrapped her fingers around the first piece of paper she touched. 

“I got myself,” she admitted. “I could work with that.”

“No, try again,” Sikowitz ordered. The class had an even number of students, even if she wanted to work alone, she couldn’t.

“Fine,” she said with a faint huff as she proceeded to draw a different option. Her face shifted from annoyance to amusement as she read the four-letter name scribbled on the slip. It wasn’t her top choice, but she’d get over it.

“Oh my! Sweet Sally Peaches, it’s you!” she declared with fake enthusiasm in her Tori voice. 

“Again? Are you sure?” Tori asked skeptically. The last time they drew names for one of Sikowitz’ assignments they got each other. What were the odds that she’d randomly get paired up with her again?

“Read ‘em and weep, Vega,” Jade said as she leaned forward and held out the strip of paper so that Tori could see. 

“You know what that means,” Sikowitz said in a sing-song voice as he strolled over to Tori. He hummed briefly as he lowered the box of scenes in front of her. 

Tori wasted no time in sticking her hand inside the box and picking the first slip she could get her hands on. “You have got to be kidding me,” she whispered to herself as she read the writing on the strip. 

“Care to share?” Jade asked.

“We got the I’m Flying scene from Titanic,” Tori said, nervously fidgeting with the slip in her hands. She had watched the movie a million times, she knew exactly what they were in for.

“What scene is that?” Jade asked. While Tori may have watched the film an embarrassing number of times, Jade had never seen it.

“When Jack holds Rose up on the railing and—” Cat began, but was cut off. 

“Then pushes her off?” Jade interrupted, a sinister smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“No, he kisses her!” Cat explained. “It’s so romantic!” 

Jade furrowed her brows in disgust at the thought. To say she hated sappy love stories and movies full of cheesy romance was an understatement, she was sure _Titanic_ was chock full of that. 

Far too focused on her hatred of all things romance, it didn’t immediately dawn on her what the scene Tori picked would entail, but as she thought back to what Cat said, it suddenly hit her. “ _Oh god, I have to kiss Tori?”_ she asked herself. She had a split second of sheer internal panic at the realization, but she masked it well. 

It wasn’t like this would be their first time acting as a couple, they had done a few scenes as love interests in class and even portrayed a husband and wife for Sikowitz’ weird play, but that was all child’s play compared to what was coming. They weren’t just going to portray a couple now, they’d be expected to share a kiss—a full-on, lips to lips kiss. And while Jade was no stranger to stage kissing—it was just acting after all—the thought alone of locking lips with Tori made her feel unusually... nervous. 

“Huh, Jade and Tori playing Jack and Rose? I’ll believe it when I see it,” André said, rousing Jade out of her reverie and chasing away the foreign thoughts that had permeated her brain. 

“Oh, we so got this!” Robbie said, turning and high-fiving Beck again, causing Jade and Tori to glare at them both. 

“What you’ll get is five fingers to the face if you don‘t shut up!” Jade threatened then turned to look at Tori. “You better come ready to win.”

If there was one thing Jade West could do extremely well, it was act. She wasn’t going to let anyone or anything get in her way of winning top performance, not even a kissing scene with Tori Vega. Honestly, how bad could a little stage kiss be anyway?

* * *

After every student got their chance to pick partners and scenes, Sikowitz gave the class the remainder of the period to rehearse. It wasn’t much time, but it gave them a place to start. 

As everyone moved around the room to be by their partners, Tori gathered her things and reluctantly trudged over to Jade, who sat firmly in her chair, stony-faced and with her arms crossed. 

“Believe me, I’m not thrilled about this either,” she said as she took the seat Beck previously occupied then turned to look at Jade. “Let’s just skip past the part where you insult me and get to work, okay?”

“Fine,” Jade said, unfolding her arms and resting her hands on her lap, “but only because I want to win this stupid thing.”

Tori nodded and offered her a half-smile. “Okay, we need to figure out when we’re going to rehearse first. We can work at my place if you—”

“I have a better idea. Grab your things,” Jade instructed, completely steamrolling over her as she spoke. She rose to her feet, throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder in the process. “We’re getting out of here.”

“What? Why? We haven’t even started working on this,” Tori said. Still, she bent down to pick up the bag she had just dropped on the ground and stood up slowly, skeptical of whatever Jade was planning. 

“Because I don’t want to discuss our scene in front of the competition,” Jade said. 

“Don’t you think you’re being a little over the top?”

Jade sighed and slumped her shoulders in exasperation, sometimes Tori made things harder than they needed to be. “You want to win don’t you?”

“Yes, but— ”

“Come on,” Jade interrupted again as she grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her toward the door. 

Before Tori even had a chance to gather her thoughts, she was following behind her like a dog on a leash and stopping only as Jade paused to open the door. 

As Jade’s hand wrapped around the handle, Sikowitz cleared his throat from behind. “I think you’re forgetting something, girls,” he said, holding out the script to their scene.

“Oh, right!” Tori said as she took it. “Thanks!”

“You kids have fun!” he called out as they exited. 

Lucky for them, Sikowitz was the type of teacher who didn’t care what they did and when they did it as long as they showed up to class and performed when asked. He didn’t even bat an eye at their early departure.

Once in the hallway, Jade was like a girl on a mission—walking fast and dragging Tori along with her. It wasn’t until they got about halfway down the hall that Tori noticed they were still connected. “Um, Jade?” she asked.

Jade came to a full stop, causing Tori to run into her. “What!” 

Slowly, Tori lifted her arm up in the air, Jade’s hand still clutching onto her wrist. “Can I have my arm back?”

“I don’t know, Vega, can you?” 

“If you want to hold my hand you know you can just—”

“Shut up!” Jade said, stopping her before she could finish her sentence. She released her grip from Tori’s wrist and wiped her hand on her black jeans as if it was covered in slime. “I’d rather stab my eyes out with my sharpest scissors.”

Tori shuddered. “Gross, Jade. You’re so gory.” 

“Thank you,” Jade said as though it was meant to be a compliment, which to her it was. 

With their entanglement settled, Jade turned to walk away, moving in the opposite direction of Sikowitz’ classroom with Tori back in tow. They wandered the halls in silence, Tori following closely behind though still unsure of where they were headed. 

“Where are we going?” she finally asked. 

“Shh, just follow me.”

“We have to be careful. Dickers is always roaming the halls during class,” Tori reminded her as they turned a corner. “I’m not trying to get detention again.”

Though Jade was no stranger to detention, Tori was a novice. She was only sent there once, along with Jade and the rest of their friend group, for being late to class. Even though it somehow ended up being a fun day, she never wished to wake up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday _ever_ again. 

“You’re the one that’s going to get us caught if you don’t shut up,” Jade cautioned. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

Before Tori could protest, Jade stopped in front of their Theatre History classroom and tried the door, opening it once she realized it was unlocked. Just as she had expected—Mrs. Yonders’ didn’t have a class there until third period—the room was dark and empty. As she walked in, she flipped on the lights. 

“We really shouldn’t be in here,” Tori said.

Despite her own objections, she followed her in, closed the door behind them, walked over to the nearest desk, and placed her bag and their script on top of it.

Ignoring Tori’s complaint, Jade casually strolled over to Mrs. Yonder’s desk, pulled out the chair, and sat down. Making herself comfortable, she leaned back and tucked her hands behind her head. She swung her legs up and propped her combat boots on the desk’s edge, crossing her feet at the ankles. 

“What are you doing?” Tori asked as she inched toward her, moving to stand across the desk. 

“Relaxing,” Jade said as she closed her eyes. “You should try it some time.” 

They grew silent, both momentarily forgetting the sole purpose of their short time together. Jade was too busy enjoying the power of sitting behind the desk of the teacher who she knew wasn’t quite fond of her, while Tori’s mind had wandered away from their assignment and onto something that had been simmering in her mind for weeks. 

Engrossed in her thoughts, Tori chewed on the inside of her cheek, ruminating over whether or not to voice them. It was the first time she was properly alone with Jade since she dropped by her house to apologize, and she figured there was no better time to tell her than now.

“I’ve been meaning to thank you,” she finally said it. 

That caught Jade’s attention, but she kept her eyes closed. “For?”

“Helping me get back at Ryder.”

“Oh, that,” she said, opening her eyes and looking up at Tori who was still standing across the desk. “It was nothing.” 

“I mean it, Jade, thank you,” Tori began, “you don’t know how much you helped me.”

A rare half-smile tugged at Jade’s lips, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “Okay, Teenage Drama Queen, you don’t have to exaggerate.” 

“I’m serious! You... you helped me get out of the funk I was in.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it was a little depressing,” Jade said, nodding her head and glancing upwards as though she was thinking back to the night she visited Tori. “No one reads that trash Nicholas Sparks calls books unless they’re going through it.”

Tori’s jaw dropped in utter astonishment, due in part to Jade’s offensive remarks about the writer, but mostly because it never occurred to her that Jade had seen her copy of _The Last Song—_ the book she was reading prior to Jade’s arrival—lying on the coffee table.

“How do you even know that book is mine?” Tori asked cooly, trying her best not to give herself away. 

“Your sister doesn’t read unless it’s a shopping receipt and your parents are never home.”

Tori looked away, a blush creeping at her cheeks. She didn’t know why she was so sheepish about Jade having that knowledge, there were worse things she could know. But her embarrassment didn’t last more than two seconds as her eyes trailed over the clock on the wall and she was brought back to reality.

“We should really figure out when we’re going to rehearse our scene,” she said, changing the subject. “We perform Monday and we’ve already wasted most of our class time.”

“It’s going to be fine, Vega.”

“Says the one who was freaking out about us winning.”

“I wasn’t freaking out,” Jade quickly defended, “I just wanted an excuse to get out of the class.”

Tori wasn’t buying it, but she left it alone. They had bigger things to worry about, like the fact that they wasted all their potential rehearsal time doing absolutely nothing. “Okay, well, the bell’s about to go off in a couple of minutes so…”

With that disclosure, Jade dropped her feet to the ground, leaned forward, and stood up. “Shit,” she let out. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’ll play Jack, because there’s no way in hell I’m playing someone named Rose. I mean, I’d rather fall into a pit of spikes.”

“What a lovely image,” Tori murmured, disgust coloring her tone. She never understood Jade’s dark, twisted nature and she knew she never would. 

“We’ll rehearse tomorrow at your place and Sunday if we have to,” Jade continued, unfazed by the horror-stricken expression on Tori’s face. 

“I know this scene very well,” Tori admitted, “I shouldn’t need too much practice. It’s you I’m worried about.” 

Jade quirked a studded brow. “I have a very good memory, Vega. Don’t underestimate me.” 

As they finalized their rehearsal plan, the bell went off, signaling the start of their five minute passing period. Tori returned to her desk, grabbed her bag, and slid their script inside of it. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said with a wave as she walked toward the door. 

Jade eyed her skeptically as she followed behind. “Um, sure,” she said, “but unless you’re planning to skip the rest of the school day, I’ll see you in third period first.”

Again, Tori’s cheeks flushed pink. “Right,” she said through a nervous laugh. “See you in third period.” 


	5. Like handprints in wet cement, she touched me, it’s permanent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade and Tori rehearse and perform their scene reenactment. Is it all acting or is some of it real?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from Bloody Valentine by Machine Gun Kelly.

The next morning, Tori was abruptly awoken by the faint sound of knocking in the distance. In her sleepy daze, she didn’t immediately register what was happening and assumed it was part of the dream she’d been having, but as the tapping continued, she slowly came to.

As she gained consciousness, she hazily opened her eyes and blinked, taking in the sliver of daybreak that penetrated her room. She could tell it was early, far too early for her liking, but she didn’t bother to check the time. 

Slowly, she rose to a sitting position, her body still limp with sleep. She pulled back the covers and wearily stumbled out of bed, grabbing her glasses from her nightstand and slipping them on. She shuffled across the room and out into the eerily quiet hall. 

The absolute silence in the house, aside from the impromptu tapping at the door, was unusual for a Saturday morning, but nobody else was home. Tori’s parents had disappeared on another week-long vacation—without their daughters, of course—and Trina was camped out for a shoe sale. She’d been there through the night and wouldn't return until after the sale took place at 10 a.m. 

“I’m coming,” Tori whispered to no one at all as she descended the stairs, as if the person behind the door could hear her.

Despite her failed call out, the knocking persisted, growing louder and louder as she moved through the living room like a zombie in a trance. 

When she reached the door, she undid the deadbolt and slowly cracked it open, revealing only her face. She wasn’t usually in the habit of opening the door without checking who was on the other side first, but this time, she was too groggy with sleep to pay attention. 

Lucky for her, the person responsible for waking her at the crack of dawn wasn’t a random stranger coming to kill her, but Jade, who stood at her doorstep with a fist up like she was about to knock again. 

“Took you long enough, damn!” Jade said as she lowered her arm and shook the stiffness out of her hand. She’d been knocking on the door for about five minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.

On any other occasion, Tori would’ve said something back, but she was far too weary for comebacks. Instead, she sluggishly stepped back and widened the door.

When Tori came into view, Jade looked at her with a long, sweeping glance that took in the tousled hair, the slightly crooked glasses, and the purple matching shorts and tank. She’d never seen Tori so natural, and despite her disheveled appearance, she thought she looked… beautiful. Of course, she would never say it. 

“You look like shit,” she commented as she pushed past her to enter, sauntering over to the nearest couch and collapsing into the cushions. 

“Oh please, by all means, come right in, Jade,” Tori grumbled sarcastically, voice low and husky from sleep.

For a second, Jade was completely taken aback by the unexpected sound of Tori’s morning voice. She’d never heard it like that—so raspy, so… sultry. It stirred something strange, yet pleasantly familiar within her—a surging warmth at the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t felt that in a long time, not since she was with Beck at least. 

While Jade silently chastised herself for a feeling she couldn’t control, Tori closed the front door and laid her forehead against the back of it, eyes closing as she let out a long yawn. She couldn’t quite shake the sleep out of her system. All she wanted was to go upstairs, crawl into her sheets, fall back asleep, and chase down the dream Jade had so rudely interrupted. It was a good dream, a really, really good dream. 

Suddenly, her eyes shot open as she remembered exactly what was happening in that “really, really good” dream before it was cut short. She was lucky she was facing the door, because it helped conceal the deep shade of red that crept onto her tanned cheeks.

“Oh crap,” she whispered out loud, briefly forgetting she wasn’t alone. 

It caught Jade’s attention, who all of a sudden was no longer interested in her weird, unexpected feeling, but intrigued by whatever Tori was doing.

“And I thought Cat was losing her mind…” she said. 

“I— um,” Tori stammered, not quite able to formulate words. She turned slowly, looking anywhere but directly at Jade. Not only was she still half asleep, she was now trying to suppress the memory of how the raven-haired, blue-green-eyed girl sitting on her couch was just the star of her slightly-kinda-maybe wet dream. 

Jade smirked as she watched Tori squirm. “You alright there, Peaches? You seem a little...flush.” 

“No, um, yes,” Tori replied, pointing upstairs, “I need to, um, go.”

“Whatever. I’m making coffee,” Jade said as she stood up and wandered over to the kitchen. 

Undeniably flustered, Tori took off toward the staircase and headed for her room. It was amazing how quickly her grogginess dissipated and was replaced by a burst of energy. As she climbed the stairs, she could feel Jade’s watchful eyes following her until she was out of sight.

When she entered the sanctuary of her room, she shut the door behind her and pressed her back against it, palms flat on the wood. She closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and heaved a long, shaky sigh of relief. Flashes of her almost too-realistic dream flickered behind her eyelids and her eyes snapped open again, blinking away the memories. There was a lot to unpack there, but now was not the time, and her room was most definitely not the place. 

As her breathing settled, she glanced over to her inviting bed, tempted to slip back in, but she was no longer tired. She was fully awake and alert now, no thanks to her own brain. Her eyes trailed over to the clock on her nightstand, which read 6:41 a.m. 

“Did she fall out of bed? Who gets up this early on a Saturday?” she groaned to herself as she gently pushed off the door and crossed the room toward her dresser. She knew they had plans to rehearse their scene in the morning, but she never expected it to mean _that_ early in the morning. 

Putting her frustration aside, she dug into her top drawer and grabbed the first pair of black leggings she could get her hands on. She shut the drawer and opened the one below it, rifling through her t-shirts and picking out a red tank top with the Hollywood Arts logo displayed in the middle. She took her time switching out of her pajamas and into her newly-selected outfit. It wasn’t like she was in a rush to get downstairs and face the star of her dream. 

After she finished changing, she went into her connecting bathroom and looked in the mirror, startling herself with her own reflection. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were puffy from sleep, although her glasses did a good job hiding it. She wasn’t sure why the thought of Jade seeing her like this—so natural, so raw—made her feel exposed, but it did, and she kicked herself for letting it happen. 

While she wasn’t able to take back their interaction, she could at least clean herself up a little before she faced her again. So, she washed her face, brushed her teeth, applied a touch of makeup and perfume, and pulled her messy hair up into a loose ponytail. 

During the time that Tori was upstairs getting ready, which felt like an eternity, Jade brewed a strong pot of coffee, and carried a cup of it over to the couch, setting it down on the coffee table to cool off. 

Bored and in need of something to distract herself from the thought of Tori’s morning voice as it echoed in her head, she grabbed the remote from the coffee table, settled into the couch, turned on the television, scrolled through the various options, and selected the Netflix app. She wasn’t interested in actually watching anything, no, she had a better idea in mind. 

When the list of accounts came up on the screen, she navigated over to Tori’s profile and selected the editing tool underneath her avatar. As quickly as she possibly could before Tori returned, she switched out her generic icon and replaced it with the Pax demon from _Black Mirror: Bandersnatch._

Realizing she still had some time, she went back to the main screen and entered Tori’s profile. It took a lot in her not to burst out laughing as her eyes trailed over the content on the recently watched section. _Riverdale… The Notebook… Clueless… A Walk To Remember… To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before…_

“What a sap,” she said out loud, shaking her head in disapproval as she scrolled through. She was too consumed in her snooping to hear Tori making her way down the stairs. 

Tori didn’t initially notice what Jade was doing, assuming she was looking for something to watch in her absence, but as she stepped into the living room and looked at the television screen, she suddenly caught on.

“What are you doing?” she asked, eyes wide with humiliation. 

“Looking through your atrocious Netflix history,” Jade responded, her eyes fixed on the screen as she continued to look through. “Pride and Prejudice? Really, Vega? Didn’t get enough of it in English?”

Tori wandered over to stand behind her, dropping her brown bag on the ground next to her foot. “Jade, that’s private!” 

“No, it’s not,” Jade said, pressing the return button on the remote. She wondered what other hidden gems she could find on there. “I was thinking I’d try YouTube next.”

Before she could even get out of the Netflix app to investigate, Tori leaned over the back of the couch, reached across Jade’s body, and attempted to grab the remote from her hand.

“Give me that!” she muttered, abashed by Jade’s nosiness.

“NO!” Jade snarled, holding the remote away from her reach, still trying to press the buttons to exit. 

“Come on, Jade!” 

“What? You scared I’ll find something incriminating?” 

“No, I—”

It all happened so fast. One second, Tori was on her tippy-toes, leaning as far forward as she could go without ending up on the other side. The next, she lost control of her footing, slipped, and flipped over the backrest, the back of her head landing in Jade’s lap with a thud. It caught Jade off guard, and while usually something like this would have her furious, she just tipped her head back in laughter.

Tori didn’t immediately move from her position, far too embarrassed to even blink. Instead, she laid there for a few seconds, eyes closed, wishing she could run back the clock to when the thought alone of Jade West didn’t flood her cheeks with color, or get her heart racing a hundred miles a minute. 

When she finally opened her eyes again, she was met with—to put it plain and simple—boobs. They were covered, of course, thanks to Jade’s black “Bite Me” shirt, but the sight alone summoned a flood of memories from her dream, and if she thought she was embarrassed before, then she was downright mortified now. 

Jade’s laughter died down as she sat back, arms stretched out across the back of the couch, a cheeky smirk playing at her lips.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re staring at my boobs, Vega,” she said, looking down at Tori. “They’re pretty great, huh? Don’t worry, yours will come in soon… now move!” 

Tori didn’t have to be told twice. She scrambled into an upright sitting position and nervously fixed her ponytail.

“I wasn’t staring,” she defended. “They were just… there.”

“Mhm, whatever helps you sleep at night,” Jade said as she leaned forward and picked up her coffee mug. She turned the television off and set the remote on the coffee table. 

Ignoring Jade’s comment, because it hit way too close to home, Tori rolled her eyes and stood up. 

“You realize it’s seven in the morning, right?” she asked, walking over to the kitchen and toward the coffee maker. 

“Yeah, so? I woke up early,” Jade said, taking a sip of her coffee before continuing. “We have a lot of work to do.”

“You couldn’t make enough for me?” Tori grumbled as she noticed the coffee pot was empty. 

Jade turned to look at her, studded brow raised as she slowly and tauntingly lifted her mug and held it up to her nose, breathing in the aroma of her coffee. “Oh, you wanted some?” 

Annoyed, Tori opened her mouth to complain, but closed it when she noticed Jade’s blue-green eyes flicker from her to the dining table. Following her line of sight, she saw another mug.

“What did you do to it?” she asked defensively as she inched toward the table, inspecting the drink.

“Poisoned it, obviously.”

Despite her skepticism, Tori grabbed the mug and eyed Jade suspiciously as she walked over and sat next to her on the couch. It didn’t occur to her until she was settled in, that she had subconsciously chosen to sit on the same couch as her, even though there was a completely empty one next to it. Jade, surprisingly, didn’t seem to be bothered by it. 

Shrugging the thought away, Tori took a sip of her coffee, not realizing she hadn’t added anything to it, and hummed in surprise when she noticed it was made exactly how she liked it. 

“You put sugar and creamer in this?” she asked, lifting the mug up to her lips for another sip.

“Mhm.”

“Aw, Jade.”

“What? You looked like death when I got here,” Jade said with a shrug that implied indifference. “Can’t get any work done with a zombie.”

“How do you know how I like it?”

Taking in a deep breath, Jade turned to look at her, lowering her mug to rest it on her lap, hands gripping tightly around it. “Why do you ask so many questions?” 

It was in that moment, as her brown eyes gazed into blue-green ones, that Tori was reminded _again_ of her previous “night with Jade.” Her unconscious mind sure had a way of remembering every single detail on her face. The memory felt almost… real, but it wasn’t. What she dreamt about doing with Jade, as oddly amazing as it was, was just that—a dream. 

“Jesus, Vega, will you quit staring?” Jade demanded.

Snapping out of her daze, Tori shook the recurring thought out of her head and looked away, hiding the new round of blush on her cheeks. 

“We should, uh… rehearse,” she stammered as she rose to her feet, set her half-finished coffee on the table, and walked around the couch to grab her bag. She wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to go over their scene, when a single look at Jade would elicit such a strong response, but she needed something to distract her. 

Amused by Tori’s newfound weird behavior, Jade stayed seated and finished her coffee, watching as Tori strolled over to the other couch and rummaged through her bag. 

“Here,” Tori said, pulling out their script and handing it to her. 

Jade snatched it from her hands and gave it a quick once over, cringing at how sappy the scene was.

“This is terrible,” she noted.

“Our assignment isn’t to rate the scene, it’s to act it out. Just look through it and learn your lines, so we can get started.”

Folding her arms across her chest and clutching onto their script, Jade looked up at her scene partner with an irked expression lining her features. She wasn’t too fond of being ordered around. 

“Aren’t you going to learn _your_ lines?” she asked.

“I’ve watched Titanic a million times, I know this scene like the back of my hand,” Tori stated, “I don’t need the script.”

That utter confidence piqued Jade’s interest and she smirked as she uncrossed her arms and stood up. 

“You’re off-script, huh? Well, let’s see it then,” she suggested, gesturing with their script like she was a game show model presenting a prize. 

Tori wasn’t afraid of a little challenge, especially one she knew she could conquer. With a confident grin, she undid her ponytail and let down her tousled hair, tossing her scrunchy onto the coffee table. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. 

With Jade in tow, she walked over to the piano in the back to use as their temporary set. It gave Jade an opportunity to put down the script, so she could reference it while they performed, and served as a make-shift rail. 

They moved silently around each other to get in position. Jade leaned over the back of the piano, pretending to be at the bow of the ship, staring out to sea, while Tori took a few steps back, allowing enough space between them to make it look like she was approaching from behind. 

As she waited for Tori to speak the first line, Jade looked down, memorizing as much of the start of the scene as she could. When she felt confident enough, she drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, fully embodying the role of Jack Dawson. 

“ _Hello, Jack_ ,” Tori said from behind, beginning their scene. 

Jade whipped her head back to look behind her, acting startled by Tori’s entrance. 

“ _I changed my mind_ ,” Tori continued, looking at her with a soft smile, hands nervously fidgeting in front of her. 

A gentle smile tugged at Jade’s lips as she gazed at Tori with a glint of admiration in her eyes, silently drawing her in. 

Tori approached her slowly, then stopped a couple feet away. _“They said you might be up—”_

“ _Shh_ ,” Jade interrupted, bringing a finger up to her lips before reaching her hand out for Tori to take. _“Gimme your hand.”_

Tori placed her hand atop Jade’s, smiling at her as she did. The contact was new to her, she’d never held Jade’s hand before, but she let the thought drift away as Jade pulled her in, a reminder that they were still acting. 

As she stepped closer into her, her gaze flickered between Jade’s eyes and her lips, taking it all in. She tried to keep the memory of her dream at bay, focusing only on the emotions Rose felt staring at Jack. 

_“Now close your eyes,”_ Jade instructed, _“go on.”_

Doing as she was told, Tori closed her eyes and waited. Even though she knew what was coming next, she couldn't help but feel a jolt when Jade’s hand settled lightly on her waist, the other holding her hand. 

_“Step up,”_ Jade said, walking her closer to the piano. 

Like Rose, Tori kept her eyes closed, letting Jade be her guide. It was strange how much she trusted her to lead her, it felt almost natural. 

_“Now, hold onto the railing,”_ Jade continued, freeing Tori’s hand so that she could grab onto the back of the piano as if it was the bow of the ship. She stood behind her now, leaning forward just enough to look at Tori from the side. _“Keep your eyes closed. Don’t peek.”_

_“I’m not.”_

_“Step up on the rail,”_ Jade directed again, moving her hands to rest at Tori’s waist, causing her to shudder at the unexpected touch. Since they didn’t have anything to actually step onto, Tori mimicked the motion of climbing onto the railing, while her hands remained firmly on the piano and Jade’s held tight to her waist. 

Tori’s breath was shaky and her body trembled with fear as if she was actually standing on a railing, overlooking the ocean. It gave Jade the perfect opportunity to close the gap between them, pressing her front against Tori’s back, acting as though she too had climbed the railing. 

_“Hold on, hold on,”_ she said, wrapping her arms around Tori and placing her hands atop hers. _“Keep your eyes closed.”_

Tori giggled nervously at the touch. It was the reaction Rose gave Jack, but she felt it just the same.

 _“Do you trust me?”_ Jade asked. 

_“I trust you.”_

With a quick glance at the script, Jade took Tori’s hands in hers, gently raising them. Her touch was delicate as she trailed down to hold her wrists, leaving goosebumps on Tori’s tanned skin, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Jade, but she didn’t say anything, continuing on with the scene. 

Trembling and guided by Jade’s careful hands, Tori lifted her arms up slowly until they were outstretched on each side, like the wings of a bird in flight. Her eyes remained closed, and a smile pulled at her lips, channeling Rose. 

_“Alright,”_ Jade said, letting go of Tori’s arms and lowering her hands to hold her by the waist, steadying her. _“Open your eyes.”_

Slowly, Tori did as instructed, opening her eyes and envisioning nothing but the deep sea below them. She gasped audibly, her smile growing wider at the image in her head. 

_“I’m flying,”_ she cried out with glee, _“Jack!”_

They stood like this for a beat, Jade’s hands interlocking around Tori’s waist as she rested her chin on her shoulder, and Tori stayed put, arms never dropping from their position. 

Glancing at the script, Jade moved her hands up again, this time taking Tori’s hands as her arms remained stretched out, and slowly interlacing their fingers. It was odd how perfectly they fit together, a feeling that didn't go unnoticed by either of them.

 _“Come Josephine in my flying machine. Going up she goes, up she goes,”_ Jade sang, her lips mere inches from Tori’s ear. 

Again, Tori laughed—a breathy, nervous laugh. It came out perfect, but there wasn't much acting to it. Like Rose in the scene, she too felt vulnerable in Jade’s embrace. She was suddenly very aware of how close Jade was to her, she could practically feel her breath on her neck, like a warm summer breeze. It sent a shiver down her spine, which she hoped Jade had overlooked.

A few seconds passed and they remained connected, both their arms extended, still hand-in-hand. Jade used it as an opportunity to read the script for her next line, surprised to see what was ahead. Without any time to react, she nuzzled her face into the crook of Tori’s neck, lowering their intertwined hands down, and wrapped them around her stomach. 

It was weird, the feeling of having Tori in her arms like that, but she didn’t dislike it the way she thought she would. Every touch, every gesture was so foreign, and even though it was all acting, she couldn’t help but feel that same surge of warmth at the pit of her stomach from before. 

Rousing Jade out of her thoughts and bringing her back to their scene, Tori turned her head to look at her, scanning between blue-green eyes and parted lips. Jade stared back, gazing into her chocolate brown eyes and then, with no warning, she leaned in. 

The second their lips brushed together, there was a spark that ignited between them. The kiss was slow at first—soft, unhurried, and almost exploratory. But as Tori’s hand reached up to cup the back of Jade’s neck—much like Rose did to Jack in their script—their kiss intensified, and that barely-lit spark rapidly grew into a full-raging fire.

Their embrace went on longer than the scene truly called for, but neither one was eager to pull away. It wasn’t until an involuntary, yet barely audible moan escaped Jade’s lips that they finally broke their kiss. 

As soon as they separated, Jade took a few steps back, giving them a much needed distance as she tried to make sense of everything that had happened. She stood silent, a finger tracing the place where Tori’s lips had danced no more than ten seconds before. There weren’t many things that could render her speechless, but that kiss had definitely done it. 

Despiste her loss for words, her mind was brimming with thoughts about their scene. It was so authentic, so believable and while she’d pride herself on her acting—her seemingly effortless ability to completely transform into a role—she couldn’t help but wonder how much of that was actually acting, and how much of it was... her. As if the line between acting and reality had, at some point, been blurred. Was that Jack kissing Rose? Or was Jade kissing Tori?

“Do you—” Tori began but paused, clearing her throat to disguise the unsteadiness in her voice. Evidently, she too was affected by their performance. “Do you believe me now?” 

Trying her best to hide her internal panic, Jade shrugged, indifference written on her face.

“Your performance was… passable,” she began, “but it’s nothing to write home about.” 

Tori cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? I nailed that without ever looking at the script. Not once!”

“It still needs work,” Jade said, getting her attitude back, “we should run it again.”

“Fine,” Tori settled, returning to the spot where she started their first run-through. “Make sure you’re holding me tighter when we’re supposed to be on the railing. You don’t want me to fall off the boat.”

“This scene would be so much better if I just pushed you into the ocean.” 

Tori shot her a glare. “Are we rehearsing this again or not?”

“Yes, but while we’re talking pointers,” Jade began, taking off her leather jacket and hurling it onto the couch, “try not to suck my face when we’re kissing. You’re like a human vacuum cleaner.”

Tori rolled her eyes, ignoring Jade’s snide remark. She knew better than to bite back, unless she wanted to go back and forth for the next thirty minutes. 

“Let’s just get on with the scene,” she demanded. 

* * *

After multiple run-throughs—five to be exact—Tori and Jade decided to call it a day. They were confident with their progress, trading notes between test runs and tweaking things as they went. By their last rehearsal, their reenactment was borderline perfect. 

Pleased with the headway they made, they chose not to rehearse on Sunday, opting to use the time to run through lines on their own. It wasn’t like they needed it, Tori had her lines down before they even met to go over the scene, and Jade—true to her craft—was fully off-script by their third attempt. 

Unbeknownst to each other, their mutual decision to work apart was less about practicing individually, and more about dealing with the aftermath of their scene, and for Tori, that meant one part in particular. 

As soon as Jade was out the door, Tori’s mind was flooded with countless thoughts, but only one permeated in her brain—their kiss. She tried to remind herself that it was just a stage kiss, like the ones she’d had many times before, but it didn’t _feel_ like a stage kiss, it felt like a lot more. 

There wasn’t supposed to be a spark, or any connection for that matter, it was just acting, but the moment Jade’s lips first grazed her own, that all went out the window. And when she kissed her again, she felt that spark grow into a flame. By their last kiss, she felt her whole body was ablaze. She’d never had such an intense reaction to a kiss before, scripted or not. 

In her solitude, the realization hit her like a freight train traveling at full speed. Their kisses were more than acting, more than lines in a script, more than Jack and Rose; they were, without a shadow of a doubt, the real thing.

The thought alone terrified her. Kissing Jade West wasn’t supposed to mean anything, or stir up any emotions she didn’t even know she had. But it did, and every time she thought about their scene, all she could picture was Jade’s soft lips and how strangely good they felt melding with hers. 

By the time Monday morning rolled around, Tori was a nervous wreck. Not to perform—she could do that in her sleep—but to have to face Jade again... and kiss her once more after sitting with her feelings. 

Once at school, she made a pit stop at her locker to switch out her books then made her way over to Sikowitz’ classroom, where she expected the rest of the group to already be. Before she entered, she took in a long, deep breath to gather herself and did her best to lock away all of the thoughts and feelings she’d been dealing with since Saturday morning. 

When she opened the door, she was met by a sea of chatter as her classmates used the last few minutes they had to touch up their scenes. As she stepped inside, her eyes landed on Jade, who sat in her usual seat in the back, grimacing as she watched Robbie swing his lightsaber around and dramatically imitate its sound effects.

“Hey,” she greeted softly, taking the empty seat next to Jade, trying her best to act normal.

“Good, you made it,” Jade said, turning to look at her, already bored of watching Robbie butcher his Luke Skywalker impersonation. “I thought you were going to chicken out.”

“And fail the assignment?”

“You’re right, you’re too much of a nerd for that.”

“I got your ten texts, by the way,” Tori said, waving her phone in the air before putting it in her bag and setting it down on the ground. “Don’t worry, I’m not late.” 

“Well no shit.”

Even though they didn’t meet to rehearse on Sunday, they stayed in communication after Jade’s departure. They mostly discussed ways to improve the scene and traded pictures of their outfits—all by text, of course, Jade wouldn’t dare talk on the phone— but at some point Sunday evening, the conversation transitioned from their assignment to random thoughts on both their minds. 

That continued on through the night, and by the morning, Tori had woken up to a series of texts from Jade talking about a horror movie she watched before bed, followed by a reminder to brush her teeth. They had ventured into uncharted territory, but Tori was eager to explore it, to learn more about the girl whose friendship had been so hard to come by, even at the expense of her racing mind. 

In the final minutes before the bell rang, they both sat back watching their classmates rehearse, neither one in need of a last-minute run-through of their own. Jade’s attention went back to Beck and Robbie, who were at the climax of their scene now, while Tori looked around the room, taking in everyone’s costumes. 

Although it wasn’t a requirement, given Sikowitz’ short notice, everyone had pulled together an outfit that most resembled their character. Like Elliott, André rocked the signature red hoodie and blue jeans, while Cat had found a child-sized knock-off E.T. costume on the Sky Store website. It was odd and creepy, but if anyone could make it look cute, it was Cat. 

Robbie and Beck had it easy, they were dressed in their Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader costumes, both of which belonged to Robbie before they even got the assignment. Tori came dressed in her own version of Rose’s costume—a long white dress she had tucked away in the back of her closet with a pink scarf wrapped around her waist. And Jade… 

Jade was dressed identical to Jack. Something that caught Tori’s attention as she looked at her, eyes trailing over her costume, silently admiring the way she filled the brown pants, white long sleeve tunic and… god, the white suspenders. 

“You look good,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could really process them. “I mean, your outfit… it looks good. Like Jack’s. You did a good job… putting it together.”

Jade watched her fumble with her words, a sly smile spreading on her lips as she noticed Tori subtly wring her hands on her lap.

“You seem a little nervous. Are you nervous?” she asked.

“Pfft, no!” Tori said, waving her hand dismissively. “Why would I be nervous? We’re completely memorized and fully prepared. We’re clearly going to win this. What’s there to be nervous about?”

Jade narrowed her eyes at her, not quite convinced by her rambling defense. Before she could comment, the bell went off and Sikowitz waltzed into the classroom, as cheery as a kid in a candy store. He came in with a notepad tucked under his arm, a pen lodged between his teeth, holding a coconut in one hand, while the other dragged a foldable chair he found in the hallway. Nobody paid him any mind, all very accustomed to his strange behavior.

“Alright let’s get this going,” he said, pen still hanging from his mouth as he unfolded his chair and placed it directly in front of the stage so that he was front and center. He sat down, grabbed the pen, and began to write on his notepad. “E.T. and Elliott, you’re up first.”

As the rest of the class took their seats, André hopped onstage and waited for Cat, who wobbled her way over slowly, the costume weighing her down. 

“I’ll be right there,” she said, climbing onto the stage one step at a time.

While Cat and André dove into their scene, Tori watched pensively, her attention shifting away from their performance to her own. She wasn’t trying to think about it, but with every second that passed, she felt the knot in her stomach tighten just a little bit more. It wasn’t like her to be this nervous, especially over what was supposed to be only a stage kiss. 

Her mind was so consumed with thoughts of their scene—the kiss mostly—that she didn’t pay attention to any of the other performances and before she knew it, Sikowitz was calling her name. 

“And last, but definitely not least, Tori and Jade,” Sikowitz announced, like a sportscaster introducing a starting lineup. “Get up here, Jack and Rose.”

Tori rose to her feet, straightened out the creases on her dress, and followed Jade to the stage. Although it was a short distance, the walk felt like a mile. She could practically feel the other student’s eyes boring into her, everyone enthusiastically awaiting their performance. 

As soon as they were both in place, Sikowitz gave them a head nod, signaling he was ready. With his cue, Tori drew in a deep breath—as though it was something Rose might do— and began their scene. 

Just like they expected, their reenactment went off without a hitch. Every line, every touch, every emotion was delivered with such conviction that by the time Jade leaned in to kiss Tori—just like they had practiced five times before—every single person in the room had forgotten it was all just a performance… even the actresses themselves. But unlike in their previous rehearsals, this kiss was shorter, less intense, and not as intimate, yet it still left a significant impact on both of them. And to their audience who watched with rapt attention, it was perfect.

“Astounding!” Sikowitz cried out as Jade and Tori pulled back from their embrace. He shot up to his feet, threw his notepad on the ground, and clapped his hands like a proud parent. 

Just as quickly as he stood, the rest of the room erupted into a chorus of applause, joining him in a standing ovation. 

“Again!” some of the boys chanted as they clapped and whistled, including André, Beck and Robbie.

“Again! Again!” Cat joined in, eager to cheer on her best friends. If she could she’d watch that ten times over, not for the same reason as they boys, but simply because it was her favorite movie scene ever.

The cheering continued until Jade narrowed her eyes at the class, her lips pursed like she was ready to explode. “Say again one more time and I swear to—”

“Okay, Jade!” Sikowitz interrupted, darting onstage and gesturing with his hands to shoo her off of it. “This is a grunch-free zone.” 

Jade begrudgingly returned to her chair, Tori trailing right behind her. They took their seats and looked at Sikowitz, neither one making eye contact since they pulled away from their kiss.

“So, who won?” Cat asked, playing with the fingers of her costume-covered hands. It was the question at the tip of everyone’s tongue. 

“Hmm,” Sikowitz hummed, stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner, as if he was making a critical decision. 

“Oh, the anticipation!” André cried out, quite literally at the edge of his seat. 

“I’m flying, Jack!” Sikowitz quoted, his voice higher, mimicking Rose. 

Although many were expecting it, the class broke out into moans and groans at the reveal, except Tori and Jade, of course, who celebrated their win by jumping to their feet and pulling each other in for a quick triumphant hug.


	6. Baby, let’s take the long way home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade gives Tori a ride to school, but do they even make it there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support thus far. Strap in, folx! The moment you've been waiting for is just around the corner. 
> 
> Chapter title is lyrics from Let's Get Lost by Carly Rae Jepsen.

“Listen, all I’m saying is that Carole Baskin had motive and opportunity. She did it!” André argued before taking a monster-sized bite out of the large, oily slice of pizza folded in his hand. “S’all ‘m say’n.”

It was a Thursday at lunch and the group sat gathered around their usual table, watching Robbie and André engage in a vigorous back-and-forth debate over who killed Carole Baskin’s husband in _Tiger King_.

“The guy was into some shady chiz though,” Robbie said, “I think that’s what got him killed.”

“Will you two just agree to disagree, please?” Tori begged, poking her fork into her half-eaten salad. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“Now you know how the rest of us feel every time you open your mouth,” Jade said, looking up from her laptop screen and flashing Tori a sinister smile. She had tuned out the conversation at its inception, silently working on the final edits of a short film that was due next class period.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Tori retorted, pointing to Jade’s laptop.

Jade glared at her, the smile immediately vanishing from her lips. “Don’t you have a song to write or someone’s ass to kiss?”

“Jade!” Cat cried out, wearing a shock-ridden expression as her hand shot up to cover her wide-open mouth. “That’s not very nice.”

“Yeah, Jade, that’s not very nice,” Tori repeated, a flash of a frown crossing her face like she actually took offense to the comment. 

“Who said I was nice?” Jade asked with a shrug, her attention going back to her laptop.

Ever since their all-too-realistic performance a week and a half ago, things between them had slightly—and very subtly—changed. Away from their friend group, Jade’s bite had less venom. Sure, she was still Jade, with her snide remarks and constant need to provoke, but every so often, there were glimmers of a nicer side that Tori wasn’t remotely accustomed to. They were rare, as rare as a total eclipse of the sun, and would manifest in the smallest of ways that sometimes, Tori barely noticed. But lately, they were popping up more and more. 

It was in the subtle compliments Jade tossed at her in the hallway, or in the way she’d look at her at lunch or in class, then look away when she caught her. It was in the casualness of their texts, how Jade would find the most random, odd things to say just to keep the conversation going. And when Tori did notice, she was sure she was reading too much into it.

“Speaking of writing music,” André began, leaning forward to steal a few fries from Robbie’s plate, “did you hear the End of Year Jam signups are up?”

The End of Year Jam was an annual showcase put on by the school’s administration to celebrate the last day of school. It wasn’t mandatory or for a grade, just a way to kick off summer vacation. Students in all grades could participate, but it was especially popular with juniors as it was a welcoming of their senior year. 

“Are they really?” Tori asked with piqued interest and André nodded, mouth full of food. 

“Oh yay!” Cat clapped and turned to look at Tori. “You’re performing, right?”

Tori opened her mouth to respond, but Jade was one step ahead. “Of course she is! Sweet Sally Peaches wouldn’t dare miss it,” she said in the voice reserved solely for imitating Tori. 

With a pointed glare, Tori kicked her under the table, her foot barely grazing Jade’s ankle. It was soft enough to avoid a scene, but hard enough to get Jade to jolt ever so slightly, and look back at her with a smirk. The gesture went unnoticed by the rest.

Satisfied with Jade’s reaction, Tori turned to Cat. “I probably will,” she answered like nothing happened.

Cat’s smile grew wide as she turned again, shifting to look at Jade. “Will you?”

“Absolutely not,” Jade answered as quickly as the words fell out of Cat’s mouth. 

“We could sing Give It—”

“NO!”

Like a child getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar, Cat quickly withdrew. She slumped her shoulders and let out an audible sigh. 

“You know I don’t like when you yell,” she mumbled. 

Beck leaned over and whispered something in Jade’s ear, causing her to shake her head in clear disapproval. Familiar with her defiant attitude, he tried again.

“Fine,” she hissed, noticeably exasperated. With a swift glance at Cat, she apologized. “Sorry.”

It came out so fast it was more like a whisper, but Cat heard it and the pout on her lips instantaneously washed away. 

“Kay Kay!” she said, a smile tugging at her lips.

“You owe Tori one too,” Beck added, his voice just above a whisper as he leaned in to talk to Jade again. 

Without another word, Jade grabbed the Pearpods she had resting on her laptop, showed them to Beck like a pair of earrings, and shoved them in her ears. She increased the volume on her film and turned her attention back to her assignment, completely tuning out the group. 

“You gonna eat that?” André asked, looking at Tori and pointing to her unfinished salad.

Shaking her head, she pushed it to the side and into his waiting hands. “Go for it.”

“Why are you so hungry?” Robbie asked, noticing he had scarfed down a large pizza, chased it down with his fries, and was now chowing down on Tori’s salad.

“No… br’fast,” André answered between chews, stabbing his fork into the remains of the salad like he had a score to settle. 

“What’s up, losers?” Trina interrupted, pushing Tori and André apart to make room for herself and sitting down between them.

Nobody greeted her except Cat. “Hi hi!” she said with a wave and a small laugh. 

Rex, who’d been quiet all of lunch as he laid resting next to Robbie, was now very much awake and alert. He sat on Robbie’s lap, looking directly at Trina.

“I thought I smelled failure,” he said, waving his hand over his nose. If his features could move, he’d grimace with disgust.

“Hey puppet dummy, you want to go back into the wind machine?” Trina warningly asked, leaning over the table to grab him from Robbie’s hold.

“Trina, stop,” Tori intervened, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back down into the seat.

“My Lady in shining armor,” Rex said flirtatiously, wishing he could wink at her.

Ignoring Rex, Tori looked at her sister, knowing she only came around during lunch when she needed something. “What are you doing here, Trina?”

Trina scoffed, offended by her hostility. “Can’t I just say hi to my little sister and her friends?”

“No,” they all said in unison, except Jade, who was fixated on editing a transition in her film, and Cat, who was unaware of what was happening.

“What do you need?” Tori asked, a hint of agitation in her voice. 

“I just dropped by to let you know that tomorrow is Senior Ditch Day,” Trina explained, speaking as if the information she had to share was hot-off-the-press news. “So… I’m not coming to school.”

“Oh Happy Day!” Rex cheered, earning a stern look from the eldest Vega. 

“Wind machine,” she mouthed, glaring at him. 

Tori nudged Trina’s shoulder with her own, bringing her attention back to their discussion. “Why do I care if tomorrow is your ditch day, Treen? I can get mom or dad to bring me to school.”

“Dad has work and mom has an appointment. They can’t bring you either,” Trina informed her. There was a slight smugness about her, almost like she enjoyed delivering the news. 

“Wait, how long have you known about this?”

Trina looked up and pursed her lips as if she was thinking about it. Then, with a disinterested shrug, she said, “A few weeks.”

“And you’re telling me this now?” Tori asked, wide-eyed. “How am I supposed to get to school tomorrow?”

Trina shrugged and gestured around the table using the banana in her hand like a pointer. “I don’t know. Ask them.”

Just as Tori turned to look at the group, they all stood up, throwing their backpacks over their shoulders and gathering their trash from the table.

“Wow, look at the time,” Beck said with a quick glance at the nonexistent watch on his wrist. 

“Yeah, gotta get ready for… class,” André added. 

“Wait for me!” Cat cried out as the boys started to walk away, heading toward the main entrance. She wasn’t aware of why they were leaving, but she didn’t want to be left out.

Before Tori could say anything, André returned, hovering over them. “You gonna eat that?” he asked, nodding to Trina’s banana. 

“No, I—”

“Thanks!” he said, taking the banana and running away to meet up with the rest of the group as they left the café.

“I’m gonna go now,” Trina announced, rising to her feet and waving at Tori as she backed away. “Good luck asking Jade.”

“Asking Jade what?” Tori asked, confusion evident in her voice. 

It took her a second, but when it finally hit her Trina had disappeared, and Jade was the only one left at the table besides herself. 

Turning slowly to look at a hyper-focused Jade, Tori chewed the inside of her lip. She was scared to ask her for a ride, partially because she could vividly recall their last attempt at carpooling to school—Jade was definitely going to kill her—and partially because she wasn’t sure if she was ready to be _alone_ with her again.

She was lucky Jade was so consumed by her work that she didn’t catch her overtly staring at her as she contemplated what to do. In fact, Jade was so invested in finishing her film—and avoiding having to apologize to Tori—that she missed the entire conversation and was completely unaware that everyone had cleared the table, except Tori.

As Tori worked up the nerve to ask Jade such a simple request, she was reminded of the latest assignment Sikowitz had challenged the class with, after they were reluctant to participate in any of his exercises. Fed up with their lack of energy and as a way to get them out of their comfort zones, he instructed them to only say yes to everything for a full week. Well, almost everything. There were a few exceptions, of course, but asking your friends to take you to school wasn’t one of them. 

It was then that it dawned on her that her friends had booked it at Trina’s revelation in order to avoid being asked for a ride. Whether she was aware of it or not, Jade wasn’t as lucky.

“I’m gonna start charging a fee when you stare, Vega,” Jade said, removing her Pearpods and putting them in their case. When she looked up, she noticed they were alone. “Where the hell is everyone?” 

“Trina scared them away,” Tori answered. Her cheeks flushed a hot shade of pink after being caught. 

Jade nodded in understanding. “And you stayed because…”

“Well, I have something to—”

“...because you wanted to keep gawking at me like a creep?” Jade interrupted. 

Putting Tori on the spot had to be her favorite hobby, and lately, she seemed to be doing it a lot. She licked her lips and chuckled in smug satisfaction, clearly enjoying herself as she watched Tori writhe in embarrassment. 

“I wasn’t gawking,” Tori said unconvincingly.

“Oh right, and the sky isn’t blue.”

“Technically, it isn’t. It’s—”

Jade held a hand up to Tori’s face, halting her rambling. “That wasn’t an invitation for you to nerd out.”

“I’m just saying if you’re going to be rude, at least be accurate.” 

Rolling her eyes in playful annoyance, Jade diverted her attention back to her computer, saving her finalized video before she could forget. Once it had saved, she closed her laptop, and slipped it into her bag.

“As fun as this has been, and believe me I’m having a blast,” she said in a monotonous tone as she stood up, slipping her bag strap over her shoulder, “I got things to do.” 

“Wait,” Tori said, clutching her wrist to stop her from leaving. 

Jade looked at her then at her wrist, where Tori’s grasp was firm, yet gentle. “Three… two…”

Hoping to avoid any potential conflict, Tori let go of her before she could finish counting. A smile crept onto her lips as she finally asked, “Can you give me a ride to school tomorrow?” 

It caught Jade off guard, but she feigned surprise, her studded brow raised and lips parted in something akin to bewilderment. 

“Did I hear that right?” she asked, sitting back down, curiosity getting the best of her. “You’re asking _me_ for a ride?”

Tori nodded. “Yes, just tomorrow though.”

“Aw, are you trying to spend more time with me?” Jade asked as she reached up and pinched Tori’s cheek.

“What? No!” Tori replied instantly, slapping Jade’s hand away from her face. “It’s senior skip day and Trina won’t bring me.”

“You could’ve asked anyone else.” 

“Yes, but where’s the fun in that?” Tori asked, her smile turning into a smirk. She knew exactly how to get her now. “Remember Sikowitz’ assignment?”

“Damn. Well played, Vega,” Jade said with an approving nod. It was hard to impress someone like Jade, but this got her. “I guess I’m giving you a ride tomorrow.”

“Great! So, I’ll see you at my place at seven forty five?”

“No, seven on the dot actually,” Jade said, a devilish grin dancing on her lips. Tori played well, but she could play better. “If you’re riding with me we’re getting breakfast… and you’re paying.”

“Who said anything about breakfast?”

“You want a ride or not?”

Tori sighed, of course this was more trouble than it had to be. “Well, yeah.”

“My services come with a fee. Take it or leave it,” Jade said, standing up and grabbing her bag. 

“Fine, seven it is.”

* * *

The next morning Jade pulled into Tori’s driveway as the clock on her dashboard switched to seven o’clock. When the car rolled to a stop, she slid the gear shift into park and left the engine running. She grabbed her cell phone from the cup holder and pulled up her message thread with Tori.

_Where are you?_

_I said 7 on the dot_

_Not 7:01_

**Sweet Sally Peaches:** I’m coming 

_Hurry up_

_I. Need. Coffee._

**Sweet Sally Peaches:** Stop rushing me 🙄 

_I’m gonna leave 👋🏻_

Despite her last message, Jade stayed put. She closed out of her phone, placed it back in the cup holder, and looked up toward the pathway where Tori would soon be making her appearance. 

It took a few minutes, but eventually Tori came out, throwing her keys into her bag as she strolled toward the car. Jade didn't mean to watch her so closely as she came into view, but she did, and she noted the small smile that was playing on her lips as she approached. 

Before she could get too close, Jade thought it’d be funny to mess with her—mostly as payback for making her wait. So, she swiftly put the car in reverse and gradually backed away like she was leaving. She let out a low chuckle as she watched Tori halt in her tracks, her face twisting in a puzzled scowl. The look of confusion on her face was priceless… and totally worth the joke.

As Jade stopped reversing, Tori waited, visibly skeptical of Jade’s next move. She inched closer at a snail’s pace, eyes fixed on Jade through the windshield. When the car was at a complete stop, Tori took a few steps forward and grabbed the door handle. 

“It is way too early for this, Jade,” she said as soon as she pulled the door open and stepped into the passenger seat.

“You’re lucky, it was either that or I made you chase after me.”

“Ah shucks, thanks,” Tori said sarcastically, fastening her seatbelt and dropping her bag on the floorboard at her feet.

They fell silent as Jade backed out of the driveway and into the quiet street, the music of her favorite alt-rock station filling their silence.

Jade kept her eyes locked on the road as she exited Tori’s neighborhood, both hands clutching the wheel, trying hard not to think about how much Tori’s perfume—which wafted off her with the slightest movement—reminded her of their scene rehearsals. Though if she were being honest with herself, being in Tori's presence alone brought back vivid memories of that day. 

Next to her, Tori wasn’t faring well either. She'd been nervous to be alone with Jade again, especially for an extended period of time. Just the two of them. No friends, no classmates, no noisy students in the café. The thought of it kept her up part of the night, and made itself the center of her attention when she woke. 

Trying to distract herself, she looked around Jade’s car. It wasn’t like she was unfamiliar with it—it wasn’t the first time Jade had given her a ride—but she needed something to keep her from focusing on the raven-haired girl next to her. Though, being in her car, it was nearly impossible. 

“I see you still have that shovel,” she said nervously, breaking their silence as she looked behind her at the “old friend” in the back seat. 

“Don’t go anywhere without it,” Jade joked. She kept a tight grip around the steering wheel, the aroma of Tori’s perfume more pungent now that she turned back to face the front. “You never know when you’re gonna need it.”

Tori looked over at her and nervously laughed as she asked, “You’re not going to kill me, are you?”

Jade took her eyes off the road for a split second, turned to look at Tori with a dubious smile, and let out a soft chuckle. “Not this time, Peaches.” 

It was enough to partially calm Tori’s nerves, although the mention of her newest nickname—the one she secretly loved—sent them right into overdrive.

The car got quiet again, except for the chatter on the radio from the morning show hosts as they discussed the weekend’s highly-anticipated Coachella festival. When it cut to commercial, Tori reached out to change the station. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jade exclaimed, swatting Tori’s hand away from the dial. “Don’t touch that.”

Tori threw her hands up in defense and said, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were _so_ possessive over your radio.”

Anyone who had ever ridden in Jade’s car knew her golden rule—you don’t touch the radio. It applied to everyone—even Beck when they were dating—but mostly Cat, who was a repeat offender. And although Tori had been in her car once before, the rule was never disclosed. 

“I don’t want to hear any of that annoying pop shit,” Jade said, pulling a face of disgust. 

Tori slumped back into her seat and turned to look out the window at the passing buildings. She wasn’t quite sure where they were—nothing looked remotely familiar—but she didn’t give it much thought. 

“I wasn’t going to put on pop music, you know,” she said after a few seconds. “I know you hate it.”

Jade glanced at her then back at the road. “Fine. You can switch it. Just no top 40 or you walk to school.”

It wasn’t like her to give in so easily, especially not to someone like Tori, but lately, the Latina in her passenger seat had her doing things she normally wouldn’t do, and she didn't know why she was going soft on her.

The rest of the short drive was spent singing along to most of Fleetwood Mac’s _Go Your Own Way_ , as it played loudly through the speakers. Tori had found it scanning through the stations and stopped when she heard the familiar guitar riff. While Jade didn’t initially take part in jamming out to the song, despite it being one of her favorites, she did get into it towards the end. As the song concluded, she pulled into a small parking lot, and Tori lowered the volume. 

“Who knew you were a Fleetwood Mac fan,” Jade said, turning off the engine and removing the keys. 

Tori opened the car door and stepped out, waiting to speak until Jade exited on her side. “Isn’t everyone?”

“I just mean, all you ever listen to is Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.”

“I listen to other music,” Tori defended, following Jade as she led them toward a café. 

“Oh right, right, right. I forgot, Billboard’s Top 100 is its own genre now.”

“Make fun of me all you want, but we actually have a lot more in common than you think.”

Jade snickered. “I _highly_ doubt that.” 

Too consumed by the conversation, Tori didn’t realize they had reached their destination until Jade was pulling open the door and motioning for her to go in first.

“Thanks,” she said as she stepped inside, looking around at her new surroundings. “Where are we?”

The sign on the far wall read Venice Café & Coffee. It was a little restaurant-slash-coffee shop a little ways away from Hollywood Arts, but not too far. For a little hole-in-the-wall café, the place was busy. There wasn’t a single empty table—not that they’d need one, they had class in less than half an hour—and a crowd had gathered by the door, waiting to either be seated or for their to-go orders to be called. 

“It’s the best place to get coffee in all of LA. Trust me, I’ve tried it all,” Jade said. She pointed to the large menu over the counter then looked at Tori. “Try their house blend.”

“Their house blend?” Tori repeated, looking back at her like she’d lost her mind. “You bring me to a random café to try their house blend? You know there’s a Starbucks a block from my house, right?”

“Just wait until you try it. You’ll never order Starbucks again.” 

Tori nodded, taking Jade’s word for it. “How did you even find this place?”

“I practically live at the movie theater that’s around the block.”

Jade wasn’t sure why she was disclosing so much information, but it seemed like some switch had flipped inside her, and she wasn’t sure how to switch it back.

“Oh, _that_ movie theater,” Tori said with great contempt. 

It had been awhile since she thought about Ryder and their fallout. Even though they went to the same school and avoiding each other was next to impossible, he never tried to speak to her again—probably because he was too embarrassed—and she got really good at pretending he didn’t exist. 

“You’re not still hung up on that loser, are you?” Jade asked, taking a step forward as the line moved up and Tori followed along. 

“God, no! I’ve moved on. It’s just… some things are harder to forget.”

Jade nodded. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she wondered if Tori had moved on to someone else. And just as quickly, she wondered why she was even thinking about it. 

“I can’t imagine there being anything about Ryder worth remembering,” she said, playing off her internal conversation. 

“There’s not, but the way that everything ended kind of sucked,” Tori shrugged. “I know I got my revenge, but getting cheated on is still really…”

“Shitty?” 

“Yeah, shitty,” Tori agreed, but she didn’t let the conversation dampen her mood. It was nice getting to talk to Jade like they were friends, even if she would eventually try to deny it. 

Jade opened her mouth to speak, but the person in front of them finished ordering and they were up. 

“I’m gonna go stand over there,” she told Tori, pointing to the group of people waiting by the door, “I’ll take a large house blend with—”

“Two sugars, I know. Anything else, Your Majesty?” Tori teasingly asked. 

“Well, since you’re buying,” Jade began, looking up at the menu. She wasn’t too familiar with their breakfast options, only their coffee. “Get me an almond croissant.” 

“Got it,” Tori said, then turned to greet the cashier. 

While Tori ordered, Jade stepped off to the side, standing as far away from the other customers as possible. She hadn’t even been there ten seconds before a Justin Bieber-circa-2018 lookalike moved around the group to come talk to her. 

“Hey there,” he said, stopping to stand beside her. He smelled like a typical teenager who drowned in Old Spice seconds before they left the house.

“Hi,” she said dryly. She kept a look of disinterest on her face as she gave him a once-over. He stood at about her height, wearing an oversized Northridge High School football t-shirt and ripped denim shorts. 

“You come here often?” he asked, running a hand through his shaggy, dirty blonde hair. He probably thought he looked so slick, but to Jade he just looked desperate. 

“ _You call that a pickup line?"_ Jade thought to herself. She almost voiced it too, but she settled for a simple, “No.”

“Do you go to Northridge? I haven’t seen you around before.”

Again, Jade gave him zero energy. “No.” 

“Where are you from then?” he asked, clearly not taking the hint that she wasn’t interested.

“Canada,” she lied. She could say Mars, and he’d probably still believe her. 

“Canada, wow. You’re a long way from home, _eh?_ ” he asked, imitating a Canadian accent and laughing to himself in the process. “Are you just visiting?”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Mhm.” 

While Jade dealt with her tenacious new admirer, Tori finished paying and turned around to look for her, spotting her off to the side talking to a guy who looked to be about their age. Initially, she assumed Jade knew him, but as she approached, she could see the discomfort on her face, and how her hand was inching toward the place in her waistband where she _always_ kept her scissors. 

With little time to react—or think anything through—Tori sprung to action. 

“Our order will be out soon, babe,” she said as she walked up to Jade and snaked an arm around her waist, her hand resting over the scissors to keep her from grabbing them. 

Startled, Jade flinched at the touch and shot Tori an instinctive ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing’ glare. She was about ready to shake her off when she noticed the ‘just go with it’ expression lining Tori’s features, silently reassuring her. 

“Thanks, _babe_ ,” Jade said, voice dripping with sarcasm. She gave Tori the fakest smile she could possibly muster. 

“Whoa, you two a couple?” the stranger asked, eyes wide with bewilderment, as if he’d never seen anything like it. “That’s hot. You’re both really hot.”

Having only spent ten seconds with the guy, Tori could immediately see why Jade looked so uneasy in his presence, and for Jade to be uncomfortable, he really had to be a piece of work. It made her wonder if maybe the fake girlfriend route wasn’t exactly the best solution.

At the comment, Jade’s hand slipped back toward her scissors, finding Tori’s hand instead. She turned to her, the look of irritation still evident on her face as she nodded her head, signaling that the hand had got to go. But Tori, unwilling to give up her hand placement for fear Jade might end up arrested, tightened her grip around her waist and flashed her a sly smirk. 

There was an unspoken look between them, one that warned ‘I won’t let go until you do’, yet neither one gave in. They were too preoccupied with their little moment that they forgot all about their admirer—the sole reason they were that close to begin with. It wasn’t until he cleared his throat, that they finally tore their eyes off each other and simultaneously looked at him.

“If you need a tour guide, ladies, I’m—”

“No! We don’t need anything from you, Dustin Bieber. Take a fucking hint!” Jade snapped, letting out her built-up frustration. Her fingers wrapped around Tori’s in an attempt to strip her hand off of her, but again, Tori didn’t budge. 

“Stop, Ja— babe, it’s not worth it,” Tori said, correcting herself so she wouldn’t say Jade’s name in front of the guy. 

Lucky for them, his order was called and he walked away in a huff, picked up his drink from the counter, and gave them the finger as he made his way out the main doors.

Tori’s grip around Jade had loosened when he left them alone, but the second his finger went up on his exit, Jade lunged forward.

“Screw you, Walmart Bieber,” she said, flipping him off with her free hand as Tori wrapped her other arm around her stomach, holding her back. 

Caught up in the aftermath of whatever that was, neither one pulled apart right away. Tori still held her, arms wrapped around her defensively, while Jade relaxed into the embrace, slowly letting go of all the tension in her body. She mindlessly leaned her head back onto Tori’s shoulder for an instant, until she realized just how close they were—and how her hand still gingerly clutched onto Tori’s. With no warning, she shook her off in a sudden jerk-like motion.

“He’s gone. You can let go now,” she stated, straightening herself out as soon as Tori released her. She ran a hand over the spot on her waistband where she kept her scissors, checking on them as if they were her first born. 

“Two house blends and two almond croissants for Tori,” a young, college-aged woman called out from behind the counter. 

At the announcement, Tori left Jade’s side without a word, sauntering over to the counter to pick up their items. She offered the woman a warm, yet slightly apologetic smile—positive she had witnessed at least some of what went down—before returning to Jade.

“These are yours,” she said, handing her one of the drinks and one of the pastry bags.

Jade took both and nodded. “Thanks.” 

The journey back to the car was filled with heavy silence, both still processing and reflecting on the event that had unfolded. On the outside, Jade appeared unfazed by it, almost as if she had moved on, but inside, she was an emotional mess. 

A part of her was still angry, annoyed, and even a little upset, wishing Tori hadn’t interrupted her. Yet, the second she was thinking about Tori—who walked quietly beside her—those emotions subsided and all she could feel was something akin to what had been bubbling up inside her for weeks now, and threatened to spill over at any moment. 

But Jade wasn’t ready to deal with that, especially not with Tori so close. She let the thought drift into the back of her mind, much like she did with every single unwanted thought she had toward Tori Vega. Though no matter how hard she tried, her feelings weren’t as easy to control.

Like Jade, Tori’s thoughts were running rampant. She was convinced that Jade was about to tear into her for getting in her way, and that made her nervous. Everything up until the stranger’s unwelcome advances was going great, she would even venture to say she was feeling a connection with Jade. So, when they reached the car and settled in, she braced herself for the storm she was sure was coming. But when Jade stayed quiet, Tori turned to look at her. Her face was unreadable, almost neutral. 

Just as Tori opened her mouth to apologize—to get it out of the way—Jade broke out into a fit laughter.

“What a fucking loser,” she said through a throaty laugh. 

It caught Tori off guard. Jade’s genuine laughter was something she—or anyone, really—had never heard before, but it was so infectious that when Jade continued, she joined in. 

Their joint laughter carried on for a minute or so, Jade clutching her stomach as she threw her head back into the headrest and Tori watched her, laughing just as hard. As it died down and they each caught their breath, Jade flumbled the keys into the ignition.

“So, what were you gonna do with those scissors?” Tori asked as Jade started the car and let the engine run, not quite ready to pull out of the lot. 

Jade’s smile washed away, the remnants of laughter now gone, and she turned to look at Tori. “Stab him,” she deadpanned. 

“Jade, that’s stupid. What if you got arrested?” 

Jade shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. “You’d bail me out.” 

“I’m not getting involved!” Tori said emphatically, shaking her head as if the situation were real. “Plus, I think there’s laws against minors bailing people out.”

“It’s a joke! Don’t take it so seriously.”

“I’m just saying, you’re on your own,” Tori said, bringing the coffee cup to her lips and taking a small sip. It tasted like heaven rolled up into a coffee bean, so she took another drink. “Wow, this _is_ good, like _really_ good.”

“You say that like you’re surprised,” Jade teased. She shifted in her seat to look at her, raised a studded brow in amusement, and cocked her head to the side. “Were you doubting me?” 

Under Jade’s playful gaze, Tori felt a sudden quickening of her pulse. There was something about staring into those blue-green eyes that rendered her frozen and speechless time and time again. This time, she was positive Jade had noticed the way her breath hitched when their eyes met.

Nervously diverting her attention toward anything that wasn’t Jade, her eyes flickered to the clock on the dashboard that read 7:56 a.m. She thought nothing of it at first, then had to do a double-take when she realized their first class started in four minutes. 

“We’re going to be so late!” she exclaimed, jolting in a panic that nearly resulted in a coffee spill. She was lucky Jade didn’t notice. 

“Oh well, we should just skip.” 

“What? We can’t skip first period,” Tori declared. “That’s my favorite class.” 

“No, you idiot, let’s skip school. It’s Ditch Day.”

“Yeah, Senior Ditch Day. For seniors,” Tori said the last part slowly, as if Jade was a child. “We’re not seniors... yet.”

For a second, Jade was quiet, pensive, and then, with a devilish look in her eyes, she leaned over the center console—face inches away from Tori’s—and asked, “Will you skip school with me?” 

With a palm to Jade’s forehead, Tori pushed her back onto her side. “No! You can’t get me with that, Jade. We’re not supposed to do anything illegal or dangerous.”

“Skipping school once isn’t dangerous or illegal. Live a little, Vega!” Jade exclaimed, watching Tori contemplate it. 

“Besides, a little danger can be fun,” she added with a smirk. Normally Tori would write off Jade’s smirks as nothing but Jade being Jade, but this one was different, it was almost… flirty.

“Fine, but just know you’ll have to spend _all_ day with me.” 

Jade rolled her eyes. “Whatever, that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”


	7. I want to be with you everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade and Tori take an impromptu trip to the beach, where feelings begin to bubble up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac.

After an hour or so of driving around the area near the café, listening to the radio while going back and forth on ideas of what to do with the rest of their spontaneous ditch day, Jade and Tori finally came to a consensus—the beach. It was Tori’s suggestion, which Jade eventually conceded to—not without much deliberation—in part because she liked the beach, and in part because she couldn’t take another minute of their indecision.

Before their excursion began, they made a couple stops at their respective houses to swap their school clothes for something more beach-appropriate. Jade changed into black denim shorts and a black bikini top with a dark gray vintage Joan Jett and the Blackhearts t-shirt on top, while Tori settled for cut-offs, a blue bikini top with a black “A Woman’s Place is in the House and the Senate” t-shirt over it, and a worn out Dodgers hat. 

The best part of an impromptu trip to the beach on a weekday morning in mid-April, was that it was practically deserted, and unlike normally, Jade managed to find a parking spot with ease. Once parked, they gathered their things—a couple beach towels, water, sunblock for when the sun intensified—and made their way over to a semi-secluded spot, just far enough away from the few groups that had gathered near the shoreline. 

After laying out their towels, Tori sat down, legs tucked under her thighs, and checked her phone. It was the first time she even looked at it since Jade picked her up, nearly three hours before, and much to her surprise, she was inundated with notifications from the ‘Breakfast Club’ group chat—along with a couple direct messages from André—wondering where they were. 

“Have you looked at your phone recently?” she asked, flashing her screen at Jade who had settled onto her towel, her legs stretched out in front of her. 

“Not since I picked you up,” Jade replied. Instead of looking at Tori’s phone, she pulled out her own, glanced at the group chat—which she normally kept muted—and immediately closed out of it. “I guess you better let them know I haven’t killed you… yet.” 

Tori scrolled through the conversation, half-reading, half-listening to Jade. Without as much of a glance in her direction, she retorted, “You’re not funny.”

“Who said I was trying to be?” 

At that, Tori looked up, brow raised in curiosity. “So, you did bring me out here to kill me?”

“Oh no, this isn’t where I’d do it. Too many witnesses,” Jade said, speaking in a feigned impassive tone as she nodded her head toward the section of the beach that was occupied by other people. “It would have to be somewhere more private.”

“You say that like you’ve thought about it.”

“I won’t confirm nor deny.” 

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re actually joking.”

Jade smirked. “I am… mostly.”

Tori rolled her eyes and redirected her attention to the group chat. She finished catching up on the countless missed messages, sent off a quick response to let everyone know they were okay—that Jade hadn’t kidnapped her—and closed out of her phone. 

Soon after getting situated, they fell quiet. Their morning had been filled with conversation—far more than usual for them—but now, as they sat looking out onto the shore, the quietude was welcomed. There was just something so serene about being near the water; the faint sounds of waves colliding in the distance, the cool ocean breeze that gently cascaded over them, the feel of the sand beneath their feet.

They stayed like that for a while, neither willing to disturb the comfortable silence that had settled between them. But that tranquility, as peaceful as it was, could not contain their racing minds, nothing really could. All Jade could think about was Tori, and all Tori could think about was Jade. 

“Would you say we’re friends?” Tori randomly asked, no longer able to bear the fleet of thoughts in her head.

The question caught Jade by surprise, but she was grateful for the break in silence. She was sure if she spent even one more second sitting with her thoughts, she was going to combust.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it that, but I guess if someone held a gun to my head and asked—”

“I’m serious, Jade,” Tori interrupted, holding her hand up to stop her from continuing. “Are we friends?”

Jade waited a beat—she wanted the dramatic effect—and said, “Yes, Vega, we’re friends.”

Hearing those words come out of Jade’s mouth made Tori perk up with joy, but she did her best to contain herself, worried Jade would retreat at the slightest hint of enthusiasm.

“Would you say friends know things about each other?” she asked, repositioning herself so she sat crossed-legged facing Jade, her hands loosely resting in her lap. 

Jade glanced at her, a puzzled look on her face. “I guess, yeah.”

“Well, as your friend, I feel like I don’t really know you,” Tori admitted, voicing the thought that had been ruminating in her mind since she put her phone away. There was nothing she wanted more than to get to know Jade better; the Jade she’d seen glimpses of, not the one around their friends. 

Somewhat startled by the disclosure, Jade looked away from her and back at the water. “You know enough.” 

Tori wasn’t an expert on Jade West—nobody was—but she knew nothing came easy with her, especially not opening up. It was going to take a lot, that much she knew, but she was willing to try.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asked in an attempt to get her talking. 

“That’s what you’re starting with?” Jade asked, glancing back at her. “My favorite color?” 

Tori nodded. She was sure in her bones it was black, but she wanted to hear Jade answer it.

“Black,” Jade finally answered. 

“Okay, now ask me something.” 

“Why are we doing this?”

“Ask me something about _me,_ ” Tori corrected, pointing to herself. 

“Why are _you_ making me do this?”

“I’m not making you do anything. I just want to know more about you other than your obsession with that scissor movie and—”

“I know you did not just call it that scissor movie,” Jade cut her off, shaking her head in clear disapproval. “The Scissoring is the best movie that has ever been created and for you to just disrespect it like that…” she drew in a deep breath before continuing, “I don’t think we can be friends anymore.” 

“Oh come on, I didn’t mean it.”

Feigning heartache, Jade clutched her heart and looked away, letting her eyes fill with forced tears. Who said she couldn’t cry on command?

“Nothing you say will ever fix this,” she said through a shaky voice. 

“What if I promise to watch it?” Tori asked, unfazed by Jade’s performance. It was almost believable, she’d give her that, but no amount of acting could ever convince her that Jade would cry over a movie, even if it was _The Scissoring_. 

Keeping up her act, Jade wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “I’m listening.”

“I will, I’ll watch it,” Tori assured her. There was a hint of excitement in her voice, not because she was eager to watch the movie—inside she was already dying of fear—but because in some weird, strange way it meant they were connecting.

“I guess I’ll be your friend again,” Jade said hesitantly, her voice and demeanor back to her better-known persona. “But you can’t watch it without me.”

“You think I’d watch a horror movie by myself?”

Jade offered a half-shrug before responding, “Why not? I do.”

“Well, yeah, but you’re…” Tori paused, searching for the right word.

With a quirked brow and her trademark smirk, Jade cast her an inquisitive look. “I’m what?” 

“Not a wuss like me.”

Jade chuckled. “Nice save.”

“I hope you don’t think I forgot about our previous conversation,” Tori said, picking up a handful of sand and letting it slip slowly through her fingers. 

“Oh, you mean before you insulted my favorite movie of all time?” 

“Let it go,” Tori said, stopping after every word for emphasis.

“You wanna know more about me? Okay,” Jade began, sitting up and shifting her body so they were facing each other on their own towels, “Jade West 101. I’m very good at holding grudges.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tori muttered under her breath, but it didn’t go unheard by Jade.

“You wanna repeat that?” 

“Anyway…” Tori said quickly, trying to change the subject. She shook the sand off of her hands and looked at Jade. “I have an idea, but before you go get your scissors from the car, just hear me out.”

“This can’t be good,” Jade groaned. She crossed her legs and leaned forward, resting her elbow on her leg and her chin on her fist. 

“Let’s play a game.”

“What kind of game are we talking about here?” 

“Well, there’s…” Tori began, voice trailing off as she mused over options. “Twenty one questions?”

Jade feigned a yawn and said, “Boring.”

“Truth or dare?” 

That one Jade considered for a brief moment, but then shook her head. “Also boring. Pick something that’s not so vanilla.”

Tori took a second to think about it then offered, “Never have I ever?”

“No.”

“Why not? That’s not boring!” Tori argued. 

“Just no.”

Tori let out a long, exasperated sigh as she dropped her head into her hands. She was silent for a minute or so, mentally searching for an option to suggest, and then, it hit her. 

“F, marry, kill?” she asked, picking her head up from between her hands and looking at Jade.

“F, marry, kill?” Jade repeated questioningly. 

“You’ve never played it? I give you three people and you choose who to marry, who to kill, and who to… have sex with.” 

“Fuck. The f stands for fuck.”

There was a slight pink tint to Tori’s cheeks, but she gathered herself and nodded. “So, you have played it?”

“Yeah, I’ve played _fuck_ , marry, kill before, not some G rated f, marry, kill.”

“They’re the same thing!”

“No they’re not, Prudence.”

“I am not a prude!” Tori defended. “I’ve done… things.”

Jade half-smiled, half-smirked, her chin still resting on her fist. “Things, huh? Definitely not proving my point at all.”

“Do you want to play or not?” Tori asked, flustered by the way the conversation was going. 

“Sure, I guess,” Jade said with an uninterested shrug. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”

With a full-toothed grin and a celebratory clap of her hands, Tori sat up and pondered her first question.

“Okay, f, marry, kill—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Jade interrupted, “if we’re playing this stupid game, you have to say the actual word.”

Tori scowled. “You don’t have to be such a gank.”

“You don’t have to be such a prude,” Jade retorted, mimicking her glare. 

They silently stared at each other for a brief moment, tension radiating between them like a force field, until Tori broke the contact, eyes looking anywhere but at Jade. Instead, her focus fell onto Jade’s shirt, sparking an idea. 

“Fuck, marry, kill…” Tori began, a strong emphasis on the word “fuck.” “Joan Jett, Mick Jagger, and Steven Tyler.”

“Marry Joan, fuck Mick, and kill Steven,” Jade replied as soon as the names left Tori’s lips. 

“You didn’t even think about it.”

“I didn’t have to, that was easy.”

“Whatever. Your turn!” 

“Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and that God-awful one with the red hair.”

“Ed Sheeran?” 

“Sure, yeah.”

“Hm, let’s see,” Tori said, weighing her options as if her life depended on it. “I guess I’ll marry Taylor, I bet she’d be a great wife. I’ll fuck Katy, she seems nice. And kill Ed.”

“You take this game way too seriously.”

“Robbie, André, and Beck,” Tori said, ignoring Jade’s remark and continuing with the game. She knew that if she gave in to every one of her comments, they’d be playing until the sun set. 

“No.”

“You have to answer it.”

“I’m not doing people we know, that’s just gross.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Tori questioned. 

“Fine, kill, kill, and... kill.” 

“That’s not how you play.”

“It is now.”

“Alright, new rule,” Tori said, placing her hands firmly on her knees. “If you refuse to answer an FMK, then I get to ask you a personal question.”

“I don’t have to answer any questions, how about that?” Jade quipped. 

“It ups the stakes! You’re the one who said you didn’t want to play anything boring.”

Jade was quiet, mulling over the idea. She didn’t like the thought of Tori prying into her personal life, giving her the ability to know things about her that no one else knew, but something deep inside was telling her to let it go, to trust her for once. 

“Fine, whatever. Let’s play,” she said.

“Not until you shake on it.” 

“Shake on it? Seriously? Is this summer camp?”

Tori didn’t reply, just stuck out her hand in front of her, waiting for Jade to take it. 

With an over-the-top eye roll, Jade reached out to clasp her hand, but halted before they made contact and stated, “The rule works both ways. If you plead the fifth on an FMK, you’re getting a question too.”

On the outside, Tori was composed, playing it cool as she grasped Jade’s hand and gave one firm shake to seal the deal. But inside, as she relished the semi-familiar feel of that soft hand in hers, she was a ball of nerves. _“Why does she make me feel like this?”_ she asked herself. 

She didn’t dwell on it too long, pulling her hand back and nervously adjusting her cap. 

“Robbie, André, and Beck,” she repeated her previous suggestion.

“So, right off the bat I’m gonna kill Robbie,” Jade answered in a sure tone, “then I guess I’d marry Beck and fuck André.”

Tori stifled a laugh, remembering the time André thought he was in love with her. He’d really get a kick outta that answer. 

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing. Your turn.”

Jade eyed her suspiciously, but didn't press on. 

“Cat, André, and—” she started to say then stopped, cocked her head, and narrowed her eyes at her before adding, “Beck.”

“I’ll pass,” Tori answered immediately, flashing a nervous—almost terrified—grin. She was sure she set that up on purpose, but there was no way she was going to answer it, not for Jade. “What’s your question?” 

Jade’s lips pulled into a devilish smirk. She wanted to make Tori feel it for adding the new rule.

“So when you say you’ve done… things,” she began, using air quotes around the word “things.” “What does that mean exactly?”

Tori bashfully looked away in an attempt to hide her crimson-colored cheeks. She definitely regretted adding that rule. 

“Nothing past second base,” she mumbled. 

“That’s so vague.”

“Should I draw you a diagram of how far I went with Ryder, then?” Tori questioned. 

“No, that’s vile. I’m just saying, bases mean different things to different people.”

“Well, we didn’t get too far, okay? A lot of making out and a lot of touching, but I never… and he never…” Tori shyly admitted, “though not for a lack of trying on his part. He always wanted more.” 

“Fuck that guy,” Jade said nonchalantly. Realizing she voiced her thought aloud, she cleared her throat and sat up straight. “Your turn. Go!”

It took Tori a second to think through a new selection of people—somewhat taken aback by Jade’s comment—but eventually she offered, “SinJin, Burf, and Trina.”

“Hard pass.”

“Then I get to ask you a question.”

“Oh, goody...”

“What’s your guilty pleasure tv show, movie, or music that no one else knows about?”

“Of _all_ the possible things you can ask me, you choose guilty pleasure? Really?” 

“Do you want me to change it? I can come up with something more personal if you prefer like—”

“No, no,” Jade said, holding a hand up to stop her from saying any more, “you don’t get to just change your question.”

“Well, go on then, answer it,” Tori challenged. 

“You better not tell anyone this, but I may… sometimes… when I’m bored, watch The Vampire Diaries,” Jade reluctantly admitted through gritted teeth, then swiftly added, “I like the gore.”

While Jade did enjoy the gory parts of the show—though not as gruesome as she’d want it to be—she also had another reason for watching it: Nina Dobrev. She had developed something akin to a crush on her, although you’d never hear her utter that word.

“You’ll be surprised to know I’ve never actually watched it,” Tori revealed, “though everyone always tells me I look like the main girl.”

“You look nothing like Nina,” Jade lied. Of course she could see it, she had seen it since the day she first laid eyes on her. 

“It’s what I’ve been told.”

“I just don’t see it,” Jade defended. 

They spent a few more rounds playing, until it was finally warm enough to tan and Jade promptly ended the game. 

* * *

Neither Jade nor Tori had anticipated being at the beach for a long period of time—Jade was certain she could only handle an hour with just Tori—but between getting to know each other better and taking full advantage of the sun as it beamed down on them, neither one paid much attention to the clock. The time seemed to pass quickly though, and before they knew it they had been laid out on their respective towels for over an hour.

Their conversation had dwindled down to companionable silence after a while of basking in the sun, until Tori decided to fill it with Fleetwood Mac’s discography, which she played from her phone’s Spotify app. Surprisingly, Jade didn’t mind it, though that may have been because she actually liked the artist. Every now and then as they laid listening, Tori would catch her with her eyes closed, fingers tapping along to the beat on her bare stomach, as she mouthed along to the lyrics. As rare as a moment like that was, it was nice to see her so comfortable and so at ease. 

Eventually, Tori got restless, tired of lying around for so long. She stood up, took a few steps away from their stuff, and started stretching. First her neck, then her shoulders, then her arms, and finished by shaking out her legs. 

At first, Jade paid her no mind, far too uninterested to care what she was doing. But as _Dreams_ neared its chorus and Tori’s stretching turned into dancing, she couldn’t help but to silently look on. 

Tori had no idea she was being watched, until she heard a faint chuckle over the music. She turned to find Jade, propped up on her elbows, brows furrowed in curiosity. 

“Enjoying the view, West?” she asked, swaying from side to side as she looked at Jade. She wasn’t sure what had her in such a playful mood, but she didn’t dwell on it. 

“No,” Jade answered dryly, but made no attempt to reposition herself or look away. She was kind of entertained by Tori’s dorky antics. 

Unfazed, Tori shrugged and continued swaying through the song’s chorus. Audience or not, she was happy to keep dancing. 

When the song ended and transitioned into the next, she finally stopped, but only to channel her energy into something different—cartwheels. 

“What are you doing?” Jade asked after Tori’s first failed attempt left her kneeling in the sand. 

“I was trying to do a cartwheel.”

“That was embarrassing. Do it again.” 

Tori stood up, wiped the sand off of her legs—and the little that had landed on her stomach in the aftermath—and tried again. This time, she gave herself a bit of a running start before lunging forward, placing her hands in the sand, and kicking her feet off the ground.

When she actually landed it, she threw her hands up in the air and posed with an ear-to-ear smile, like an Olympic gymnast who nailed their dismount. 

“Judges?” she asked, looking over at Jade for an answer. She brushed the sand off of her hands, stooped down to pick up her hat, which had fallen when she was mid-cartwheel, and skipped back over to her towel. 

A pregnant pause lingered in the air as Jade mulled over a score—and tried to avoid the wave of thoughts that flooded her mind.

“Uh… six point eight,” she said, voice softer than usual. She cleared her throat and laid back flat on her towel. “No, six.”

“Damn, tough crowd,” Tori said as she sat down to catch her breath. 

“It takes a lot to impress me.”

Silence fell over them once more as the intro to Fleetwood Mac’s _Everywhere_ played on. Tori grabbed her phone from where she set it before, and opened The Slap app to peruse through it. As it loaded, she glanced over at Jade, who laid quietly beside her. She had her hands clasped, resting on her stomach, and her eyes closed to block out the sun rays that danced on her pale skin. She looked peaceful, almost harmless. 

But Tori had no clue that inside Jade, a full-fledged storm was brewing. One full of confusion, panic, shock, and even… desire. 

_“Something’s happening, happening to me. My friends say I’m acting peculiarly,”_ the lyrics rang out from the phone’s speaker and piercingly echoed in Jade’s mind.

Something was, in fact, happening to her. Over the last twelve days—ever since she pulled away from Tori’s lips at the conclusion of their first rehearsal—she had been battling with herself, trying to avoid the feelings that bubbled up inside of her at the mere thought, mention, or sight of Tori. 

At first she chalked it all up to their scene, that what she felt was just acting and absolutely nothing more. But it was more. Every time she was near her, every time she stole a glance at her from her locker and caught her smiling to herself, or every time she waited around anxiously for her to text back, it all stirred the same feeling inside. 

Jade West was as smart as she was a good actress, and even though she fought hard to keep from admitting it, she was undeniably sure that what she felt wasn’t acting. It was clear to her now, more than ever, that she was genuinely attracted to the annoyingly cute, irritatingly adorable, Tori Vega. And as soon as the thought set in, it was the only thing that ran through her mind.

While Jade was seconds away from bursting at the seams, Tori sat scrolling through The Slap app, oblivious to everything. At some point she got bored of her feed—not a lot going on when everyone was at school—and closed out of it, switching to look through her Spotify music instead. She was contemplating what song to change to next, when she was struck with a daring idea. 

“I have a song for you,” she said, unknowingly interrupting Jade’s mini crisis.

Jade—grateful to be focused on something else—opened her eyes and tilted her head to look at her with piqued curiosity, pulling a blank expression to mask her turmoil. 

With Jade’s attention on her, Tori pressed play, causing the opening bars of Justin Bieber’s _Boyfriend_ to boom from her phone’s speaker. As the song began, she watched Jade, awaiting her reaction with eager anticipation and a smirk that could only be described as mischievous.

“I don’t know what this is,” Jade admitted as she propped up on her elbows to take a closer listen, as if that would jog her memory.

The music continued, but the second Justin’s sing-whispering began, her face went from confused to disgusted.

“What the hell is this?” she asked.

But Tori didn’t answer, doing her best to stifle a fit of laughter with her right fist. It was all going as she imagined it would, until Jade finally figured it out halfway through the first verse and shot up into a sitting position. 

“Is this Justin Bieber? Are you kidding me?” she questioned, exasperation clear in her voice and face. 

What happened next was like a scene right out of a cheesy, early-2000s rom-com. Without hesitating, Jade lunged forward to snatch the phone from Tori’s hands, but Tori was quick to evade her, springing to her feet in one fluid motion and taking off across the sand.

“You’re dead, Vega!” Jade called out as she stood up and chased after her. 

_“If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go,”_ Tori breathlessly sang along to the chorus as she sprinted away.

The song selection was meant as a joke—a hilarious nod to their morning altercation—but Jade was having none of it. 

“Turn that shit off!” she demanded sternly. 

Though Tori was fast, Jade was surprisingly quicker, and it didn’t take long for her to catch up. When she reached her, she wrapped her arms around her from behind—bear-hug style—to keep her from running away again. Despite her overt vexation—or how bad it looked—the action was more playful than aggressive, and Tori burst into laughter. 

“Give me that,” Jade ordered, trying to grab the phone, which still blared music. 

Tori tried her best to fend her off, squirming in her embrace, but each movement tickled her, and her laugh turned into an outright giggling fit. 

“Stop! Stop!” she begged though her laughter. “Please, I’ll give it to you.”

True to her word, she released the strong grip she had on her phone and offered it to Jade. 

“I hope you know you’re going to pay for this,” Jade said as she took the phone and paused the music. 

“Oh yeah? How so?” Tori asked, turning her head to look back at her. 

It was in that moment that they both realized how close they were again, how Jade’s arms were still wrapped around Tori, how they were both nearly shirtless—in only their bikini tops—and how the feel of the other’s skin against their own lit fires within them. They pulled apart simultaneously, neither addressing the issue. 

“With your life,” Jade answered, a little delayed. It was clear in her voice that she was trying to stay cool. 

“There we go again with the death threats,” Tori joked. She didn’t know what to make of what had just happened. 

They walked back to their spot quietly, neither one had much to say, but then Tori broke the silence. “You’re so fast.” 

Jade shrugged. “I run.” 

“You run?”

“What? I don’t look like I run?” Jade asked, stopping in place and gesturing to her body.

Tori glanced at her, looked her over from head to toe, and bashfully answered, “You do.” 

* * *

Hours later, around the time they would’ve been getting out from school, Jade pulled into the Vega driveway and parked her car. 

“Do you want to come in?” Tori asked, mentally hoping she’d say yes. 

“I think we’ve done enough bonding for a day, don’t you think?” Jade replied, though internally she was kicking herself for not just agreeing to stay. 

“Suit yourself,” Tori said, opening the passenger door. She was disappointed in her answer, but she didn’t outwardly show it. “I’ll see you Monday, I guess.”

“See you Monday.”

Tori exited the car and trudged along the driveway and onto the pathway that led to her house. As she rounded the corner, she paused, turned slowly, and waved goodbye, and almost immediately, Jade waved back. 

The second Tori was out of view, Jade let out a big, much-needed sigh of relief, one that she had been carrying with her for hours. 

“I’m so fucked,” she muttered to herself, leaning forward and resting her forehead against the steering wheel. 


	8. So name a game to play, and I’ll roll the dice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade has a secret she can no longer stand to keep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from Into You by Ariana Grande.

Saturday mornings in the Vega residence were once synonymous with one thing: pure, unadulterated family time. From hours spent watching early morning cartoons to buffet-style homemade breakfasts, there was nothing quite like the feeling Tori would get the second her eyes snapped open and she realized what day it was. 

But, as the years passed and she and Trina got older, family time quickly eroded and Saturdays were no longer about spending time together, though by middle school, no day really was. 

Lately, Tori would wake up on Saturday mornings alone, with the house to herself. Trina was—surprisingly—always out and their parents seemed to travel more than they actually worked. 

The day after her impromptu beach day with Jade was no different. Trina was nowhere to be found—probably passed out at some ditch day party—and her parents had boarded an early morning flight for a conference in Miami.

Even though she was alone, Tori loved days like these. No school work, no commitments, no expectations, no loud, obnoxious singing coming from her connecting bathroom; just some time to herself. 

Not quite ready to get up and face the day, she laid comfortably in bed for the better part of an hour, reveling in the peace and quiet of an empty house. At some point she grabbed her phone from her nightstand and fell down a scrolling-spiral on The Slap. She had fallen asleep pretty early the night before, unexpectedly exhausted from her day at the beach, and missed a great deal of notable content.

Cat’s latest rant about her love for bibble—and how everyone was just trying to keep them apart—Andre’s twenty-post thread of his attempt to take his grandma to the movies, and the latest round of Rex and Robbie’s standoff over TV privileges, were the main highlights. But what caught her attention the most was Jade’s post in the middle of the night, not because of its content—a debate over what horror movie to watch next—but because it came from her. 

A quick glance at her name and Tori was drowning in recollections of the day before; her arms around Jade, Jade’s arms around her, the way Jade never tore her eyes off of her when she was dancing—and acting—like a fool. She smiled to herself at the thought, a regular occurrence as of late.

Recently, just thinking about Jade made her stomach somersault with delight, her heart flutter like a thousand butterflies, and her breath hitch in her throat. That combination was unfamiliar to her—even Ryder never made her feel that way—but she wasn’t clueless and as much as she tried to pretend she didn’t, she knew what it all meant. She was crushing on Jade West… hard. 

She let the information sink in as she laid sideways in the middle of her bed, phone as close to her face as possible, staring at Jade’s 1:34 a.m. post. Her thumb moved mindlessly to click on her profile, and before she knew it she was looking at Jade’s page, eyes navigating to the recently-uploaded profile picture of her at the school library. 

The soft smile that had previously crept onto her lips at the thought of the day before was now a full-on grin, and her cheeks lit up with a rosy blush. What was this girl doing to her? 

Call it coincidence or call it fate; but the second she went to click on the picture to expand it, she received a banner notification of an incoming text from the source of her smile, and her heart skipped a beat.

**Jade✂️:** Are you awake?

_ I have been for a while _

_ What’s up? _

**Jade✂️:** I’m coming over

**Jade✂️:** Just thought I’d give you a heads up

**Jade✂️:** ETA is 5 minutes

_ I’m still in bed _

_ Can you give me 30? _

**Jade✂️:** 4 minutes

_ JADE 😫 _

**Jade✂️:** 3 minutes 45 seconds

_ Are you driving?!?! _

_ Stop texting _

_ I’ll get up _

**Jade✂️:** 3 minutes 

Tori didn’t respond for fear that Jade would just continue texting while—presumably—driving. Instead, she jumped out of bed—a tad too excited—and got dressed, discarding her pajamas for high-waisted denim shorts with a white “Good Vibes” t-shirt tucked in. She quickly freshened up in the bathroom, trying to focus her attention on anything but the fact that she was about to see Jade again, the girl she realized she was harboring a crush on no more than ten minutes before. 

When she was done, she grabbed her phone from where she left it on her bed and checked for notifications. Her text conversation with Jade was still up when she opened the screen, but there were no new messages. She glanced at the time and noted it had been more than three minutes since she last texted her. 

Despite not having an update, she made her way downstairs to wait in the living room. With each step she took, she felt her excitement evaporate into a sea of nerves. Soon, she would be face-to-face with Jade again and having to pretend she wasn’t enthralled by every word she said, every glare from those mesmerizing blue-green eyes, and every touch, no matter how rare. 

_ “Get it together, Tori,” _ she mumbled to herself as she walked down the stairs. 

“Good morning weirdo,” Jade said, poking her head up from the other side of the couch where she had been laying on her phone for the past fifteen minutes. 

“Jesus! Jade, what the heck?” Tori cried out, her left hand clutching her heart as the right grabbed the banister for support, keeping her from falling. 

Jade leaned over the back of the couch and folded her arms across its edge, chin resting atop them. “Were you just talking to yourself?”

“No, I—” Tori began, then cleared her throat. “What are you doing here?” 

“I told you I was coming over. Do you not recall our conversation from five minutes ago? That wasn’t a fantasy, you know.”

“I know that, jerk. How did you get  _ in _ here?” 

“A true magician never reveals her secrets.” 

Tori looked around the room as she slowly descended the remainder of the staircase, but everything looked normal. “Did somebody let you in?” 

“Is someone else home?” 

“No.”

“Then no,” Jade revealed. 

“When did you get here?” Tori inquired as she inched closer to the couch. She was a little nervous to hear the answer. Knowing Jade, she could’ve been there for hours. 

“Fifteen minutes ago.” 

With a quick glance at her phone, Tori checked the time of Jade’s last message. “But you texted me like five minutes ago.”

“Yeah, so?”

“You— You’ve been in here the whole time?” Tori stuttered, her eyes wide in disbelief at the realization that Jade was in the house at the same time she was full-on Slap-stalking her.

“Oh my! Sweet Sally Peaches, you done did it! You figured it out! Oh, I knew you could get there!” Jade cried out in her fake Tori voice, clasping her hands in front of her chest in feigned delight. 

“How many times have you broken into my house now?” Tori asked, ignoring Jade’s attempt to rile her up with her annoyingly over-done imitation. 

When Tori sat down on the opposite couch, Jade repositioned herself so she was facing her, legs stretched out across the length of the couch. 

“Enough to know where you keep your night guard,” she revealed as she leaned back against the armrest and tucked her hands behind her head. 

“I don’t wear a night—” 

“Top drawer of your bedside table. Far back on the right, next to your—” 

“Okay! Okay! Please stop talking,” Tori begged, hands up in a pleading gesture. 

The look on her face could only be described as utter mortification, and Jade eyed her with a quizzical expression. 

“Damn, Vega, what else is in that drawer?” she questioned, her voice coated with curiosity. 

“I thought you said you looked… You know what? There’s nothing in there,” Tori said, trying to sound convincing. 

“I was kidding, well, sort of. I definitely looked in there a couple months ago, but…” Jade began, a smirk pulling at her lips, “wait, are you hiding something new in there?”

“No,” Tori replied defensively.

Unconvinced by her answer, Jade stood up, walked around the couch, and made her way over to the stairs. 

“Jade, no!” Tori called out as she realized what she was doing. She shot out of her seat and ran toward her. “You can’t go in there!” she ordered, stepping in front of the staircase to physically stop Jade from going up. “My room is… a mess.” 

“I’m supposed to buy that?” Jade said, folding her arms across her chest and tilting her head slightly. 

Tori extended her arms out to the sides to better block Jade’s passage. “Yes.”

“Now I’m definitely curious.”

“If I tell you what’s in there, will you drop it?”

“Sure.”

“Okay it’s… uh… foot cream,” Tori stammered, nodding her head like she was sure of herself, “yeah, foot cream.” 

“Oh, Peaches, you gotta do better than that. I know you’re lying.”

The tint on Tori’s cheeks was noticeable, but again, she tried to play it off. “I’m not lying.”

“What is it? Some embarrassing ointment? A love letter to Robbie? A vibrator?”

At the last suggestion, Tori broke out into a coughing fit and her cheeks flamed with humiliation. If Jade didn’t know her answer before, she definitely knew it now. 

“Oh, this is gold!” Jade exclaimed, holding back a laugh behind her smug smirk. 

“Please shut up,” Tori begged, burying her face into the palms of her hands. 

“Who woulda thought? Sweet Sally Peaches ain’t so sweet.”

“Can we please move on?” Tori pleaded, face still hiding behind her hands. She wasn’t ready to look up and see the gratification on Jade’s face. 

But Jade wasn’t exactly reveling in satisfaction at the nonverbal confession. Sure she thought it was great, hilarious even—and a little hot—but a part of her felt an unfamiliar sense of remorse for putting Tori on the spot. Before letting herself think anything through, she reached out and grabbed Tori’s wrists, lightly tugging them down to reveal her fiery red face.

“Relax, Prudence,” she said with a reassuring tone, “It’s not that big of a deal. I have one, Cat has one. It’s completely normal.” 

“Cat has one?” Tori asked, the expression on her face softening as she looked at Jade.

“Yeah, it’s pink,” Jade replied, grimacing at the revelation. “She’s not very good about hiding things. I didn’t even have to snoop.” 

Tori chuckled. “You’re going to get yourself arrested one day.” 

“Yes, and you’re going to bail me out. We’ve already discussed this.” 

As they silently made their way back to the couches, Tori looked at the clock in the living room, hoping to take her mind off of the embarrassment she had just suffered. It was a little past ten, which shocked her considering lately Jade liked to make her surprise visits at the crack of dawn. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she began as she sat on the couch and crossed her legs, “but why are you here? Besides just to torment me.”

“I was bored,” Jade said as she plopped unceremoniously on the opposite couch. 

As much as she wanted to outwardly pretend that she was only interested in Tori’s companionship to cure her boredom, inside she knew there was far more to it. Whether it was to help Tori or to practice a scene, she had gotten accustomed to spending a part of her most recent weekends at the Vega residence. And while she had absolutely no reason to be there now, she had found herself wanting to spend more time with her. In fact, it was the first thing that popped in her head when she woke.

“And you chose to come here?” Tori asked, a sly little smirk sneaking its way onto her lips. She didn’t want to make it obvious that she was actually grateful for her company, even if she was expecting a day to herself. 

“Cat talks  _ way _ too much, Robbie is just annoying, André has a crazy grandma, and hanging out alone with Beck is just weird now.” 

“So what you’re saying is, I’m your last resort?” 

“You said it, not me.” 

“Glad I can be of service then,” Tori said, sarcastically rolling her eyes. 

“You should be nice to me, Peaches. I brought you something. Two things, actually.” 

“You did?” Tori asked incredulously, like she didn’t believe a word she said. To her credit, Jade wasn’t one to do generous things without motive, or of her own volition. 

Jade didn’t answer her. Instead, she got up, walked over to the dining table, and grabbed the two cups of coffee that had been sitting there since she arrived. 

“I stopped by Venice Café and got some coffee on the way,” Jade revealed as she handed Tori one of the drinks. “Though, they might be cold now since you took your sweet time coming downstairs.”

Tori smiled warmly as she took the cup and disregarded her comment. “That’s so nice, Jade. Thank you.” 

“Don’t make it a thing, okay? Just drink your coffee,” Jade said, nodding her chin toward the drink in Tori’s hand. 

If Jade could peer into Tori’s mind, she’d find that she was a hundred times more ecstatic about the gesture than she led on. But she tried to keep her cool in front of her, in part because Jade didn’t like over-the-top reactions, and in part because she was like a ticking time-bomb, just waiting to go off. 

“You said you had two things. What’s left?” she asked. 

Jade dug through her bag for her final item, donning a child-on-Christmas-like grin as she did, and Tori watched her attentively, captivated by her rare smile. 

When Jade pulled out a DVD and looked up to show her, Tori diverted her eyes toward the coffee table, pretending she hadn’t just been staring at her. Of course Jade noticed, but for once, she let her have it.

“I brought the entertainment,” Jade stated as she inched toward Tori, waving the DVD in front of her. “The greatest movie of all time.”

“The Scissoring?”

“Wow, look who finally remembered the name. I was sure you were going to call it the scissor movie again.” 

Tori shook her head in disapproval. “Let it go, Jade, let it go.”

“I will  _ never _ let that go,” Jade said emphatically. 

“Whatever. You’re not seriously expecting me to watch this now are you?” 

“Hell yeah we’re going to watch it now!” Jade exclaimed. She pointed toward a section of the DVD cover and looked at Tori. “Look, I even brought the special edition with an extended ending.”

Tori’s lips pulled into an involuntary smile as she watched Jade practically geek out. She was sure no one else had ever seen this side of her, except maybe Beck. That reaction alone was enough to make her want to watch a hundred scary movies with her.

“Fine, but we’re keeping the lights on in every room and you have to sit near me,” Tori bargained, “I’m easily scared.”

“Lights on? Vega, it’s morning! There’s plenty of sunlight in here.” 

“Every room,” Tori repeated. 

“Okay, whatever, it’s your electricity bill you’re running up,” Jade said as she sat down next to her. 

The second Jade had settled in beside her—their bodies only inches apart—Tori felt her heartbeat just about pounding in her chest. It took everything in her to keep it together, and to not just scream  _ “I like you” _ at the top of her lungs. 

Instead, she looked at Jade who was busy removing the disc from its case, drew in a shaky breath, and said, “Let’s do this.” 

* * *

Never in her seventeen—almost eighteen—years of life had Tori imagined she’d be sitting on her couch next to Jade, willingly watching a horror movie. It was as if she’d fallen into another dimension, one where Jade voluntarily came over to hang out and share her favorite movie with her. 

Even though it was at her request, being so close to Jade made watching the movie ten times harder than it already was. At certain points, she couldn’t even focus on the plot, because she was far too preoccupied thinking about how between her own jumping, shrieking, and flinching, the small gap between them had significantly shrunk. Jade noticed their closeness too, though she tried to occupy her mind by laughing at Tori’s reactions instead, but that only worked for so long. 

It never really occurred to Jade that watching a scary movie with Tori meant having to face her attraction head on. Every time Tori jumped at a scene, she wouldn’t just get closer, she’d involuntarily reach out to hold onto something. First, it was a couch cushion during the opening scene, which Jade quickly took away when she tried to hide behind it. Then, with nothing else to rely on, she subconsciously resorted to reaching out for Jade. Most of the time, it was her hand, but in one extremely suspenseful scene at the climax of the film, she missed her hand and went straight for her legging-clad thigh. That one really did a number on both of them, but neither one was eager to address it, they just silently dismissed it like it never happened.

It took nearly two hours to watch the movie full-through and an additional thirty minutes to get through the entirety of the bonus content that Jade made Tori watch afterwards. Despite the fact that she wasn’t going to be able to sleep again for a month, Tori actually liked the movie—what she paid attention to, at least. She wasn’t going to start a fan page or anything, but she could see why Jade loved it so much.

Somehow, at the conclusion of the last bonus video, Jade managed to persuade Tori to follow up their viewing of  _The Scissoring_ with  _ Valentine’s Dead Day _ _,_ which she had purchased on DVD just days before and brought with her just in case. It didn’t take a lot of convincing to get Tori on board, not because she wanted to watch another horror movie—she’d take just about anything else—but because, again, she didn’t want their time together to come to an early end. Plus, if she had an excuse to be closer to Jade, well, she was definitely going to take it.

After a nearly-six-hour double feature, interrupted only by the delivery of a pizza for lunch, they sat side by side on the couch, debating what to do next. While neither one wanted to outright say it, they were both thinking the same thing: they didn’t want to leave each other’s company. 

“We could watch another movie,” Tori suggested after going back and forth on several other options. She shifted her body so that she was facing Jade, legs crossed and hands resting on both knees.

“There’s another really good horror—”

“I was thinking maybe I could pick this one,” Tori suggested, interrupting Jade. 

“No way! You’re just going to pick some cheesy, boring rom-com.”

“Hey! I just sat through two horror movies, Jade. Two!” Tori defended, putting two fingers up inches from her face. “It’s only fair I pick the next one.”

Jade’s eyes settled on Tori’s fingers, then, without a single word, she bit the air, pretending like she was going to bite them. 

“Get those out of my face, Vega,” she ordered, “unless you wanna lose them.”

“Okay!” Tori said, bopping Jade’s nose before quickly retracting her hand. She had no idea why she did it, and the look on Jade’s face seemed to mimic her confusion. 

“Go pick out a movie before I change my mind,” Jade said, still looking at her like she’d lost her mind. 

“I know exactly what I want,” Tori said, a smug smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

“Me too,” Jade accidentally let out, her voice below a whisper. As soon as she verbalized it, she glanced at Tori, anticipating a reaction. 

To her luck, Tori was completely oblivious. She was too busy searching for her movie selection on Netflix to have heard anything. 

“Tada!” Tori exclaimed, gesturing toward the television with the remote in hand. 

Jade looked at the screen, saw  _ Titanic  _ in large letters next to a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and groaned. 

“Hell no. Pick something else,” she demanded.

Anticipating her response, Tori shook her head, her smug smile still in place. “Will you please watch Titanic with me?” 

“No.” 

“Nuh uh uh,” Tori said in a sing-song voice, wagging her finger. “Two words. Sikowitz’ assignment.” 

Jade huffed, folded her arms across her chest, and dramatically threw herself back into the couch. “I thought you forgot about that stupid thing.” 

“Nope! So, what’s it gonna be?”

“I don’t seem to have much of a choice, do I?” Jade asked bitterly. 

Again, Tori shook her head. “You’ll be fine! It’s a great movie.” 

“I doubt it,” Jade muttered, sinking further into the couch, arms still crossed in front of her chest. She let her attention wander off to the screen, waiting for Tori to start the movie. When her eyes trailed over the run time, she sat up again, unfolded her arms, pointed to the television, and exclaimed, “Wait a minute! It’s over three hours? Are you serious?”

“We just watched six hours of really scary movies, Jade. I think you can handle three hours of Titanic,” Tori said. She pressed play on the remote and shifted her position to sit back against the couch, allowing only a few inches between her and Jade. 

“I died and went to hell, right?” Jade asked looking up toward the ceiling. “Is this hell?”

“Shut up! You’re going to miss the beginning.” 

“That’s my plan.” 

* * *

It took a few more minutes than Tori anticipated, but eventually Jade’s passive-aggressive commentary died down and she focused her attention on the movie. She never meant to get so absorbed by it, but when Jack and Rose met, she was sucked in, and when they snuck off to the party in third class, her eyes were practically glued to the screen. 

Jade was a bit of a closeted romantic that way. She wouldn’t broadcast it, hell, she wouldn’t even hint at it, but that was one of the many things about her that no one really knew, except Beck from experience, but even then, he’d only seen glimmers of it. 

To keep up her facade in front of Tori, she pretended to be uninterested, inserting little snide remarks here and there about how Cal was her favorite character so far and how the story seemed to have been written by a toddler. 

No matter how much Jade tried to act indifferent, Tori wasn’t buying it. She could see how engrossed she was in the movie when she stole a glance—or two. Or three. For someone who didn’t seem to care, her eyes never once left the television. That alone made Tori smile to herself. 

Jade knew exactly what she was getting into when she—kind of—agreed to watch the movie, but what she wasn’t expecting was the flood of memories that hit her like a tidal wave the second Rose found Jack at the bow of the ship, almost an hour and a half into the film. 

The scene played on and Tori watched like it was her first time, but Jade sat frozen next to her. Her mind flashed back to their first—stage—kiss, their second, and every attempt after that. She saw herself kissing Tori onstage and remembered the feeling she felt when they pulled apart, how she wished it could continue. There was nothing she wanted more in that moment—as she sat rooted into the couch, her eyes idly staring at the screen—than to kiss Tori again, to feel that fire course through her veins once more.

Suddenly  _ everything _ was Tori. She could taste her on her lips, smell the perfume she wasn’t even wearing, hear her obnoxiously cute laugh, see her cartwheeling across the sand, and feel the comfort of having her wrapped in her arms. It was all so suffocating—the memories, the feelings, the emotions. She couldn’t bear another second in her presence, not without completely bursting at the seams. 

“I have to go,” she muttered as she rose to her feet, scooped up her bag from the floor, and beelined toward the front door. She didn’t even bother to grab her DVDs, she would deal with that another time.

Tori jumped to her feet just as Jade crossed the room to make her exit, a puzzled expression lining her features.  _ “What did I do?” _ she asked herself. She thought they were having a good time.

“Jade,” she said, her voice soft, tender, but still loud enough to be heard. “Wh—What’s going on?” 

The words sat in the back of Jade’s throat. Everything she wanted to say, to voice, to admit, but couldn’t. No, she wouldn’t. Because this wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to have feelings for Tori Vega. How could she?

Without uttering a single word, she reached for the handle, pushed down, and swung the door open, disappearing through the door frame. The door shut loudly behind her, causing her to flinch as she walked away. She only took a few steps before halting to catch her breath, to heave a shoulder-deflating sigh. 

Maybe it was the adrenaline that coursed through her like a rain-swollen river, or maybe she was just finally seeing clearly, but the moment she stopped, something inside of her told her to turn around, to forget what shouldn’t be happening, and instead think about what she wanted. And in that moment, all she wanted was Tori. 

With her heart on her sleeve and her stomach in a knot, Jade turned around and retraced the steps she took seconds before. It only took one knock before Tori pulled open the door in a scramble. It was as if she was waiting on the other side, hoping Jade would come back. 

When Tori came into view, Jade drew in a deep breath. What she was about to do would change everything, of that she was sure. 

“I like you,” she admitted, the words slipping off of her lips like silk. It wasn’t how she intended to start her confession, but this was happening now without any real planning or forethought, and once she started she couldn't stop if she tried. “I have for a while now. I tried to pretend like I didn’t because you’re… well… Vega, but I can’t keep denying these feelings and pushing aside my emotions. I’ve tried for weeks and it’s done nothing but drive me insane. 

“When Sikowitz gave us this stupid yes assignment he said he wanted us to step out of our comfort zones and to learn something from it. I thought he was crazy, which, he is but— but I understand what he meant. Embracing these feelings for you has been that for me. You know, for the longest time I thought I was just jealous of you. Hell, maybe at one point I was, and maybe I was even jealous of Ryder because he had what I couldn’t. That’s why I never liked him. Well, that and the fact that he’s a piece of shit. But that’s not the point. The point is that I— I like you.” 

The words flowed from Jade’s lips and embedded themselves in Tori’s mind, playing on loop like a broken record. Of course she felt the same way, she wanted so badly to respond with her own confession, to tell Jade she liked her too, but instead she stood speechless, a shock-ridden look on her face. And when she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was air.

There was no way to describe the assortment of feelings and emotions that settled within Jade after her speech. Even though she had just poured her heart out, done something vulnerable for once in her life, it wasn’t in her interest to wait around for a response. She only gave Tori a few seconds, but when she failed to even muster up one word—good or bad—she felt it was time to retreat. She took one step back and turned to leave, but was swiftly met with a tan hand that gently grasped her own. 

“Jade, wait!” Tori pleaded, her tone soft, almost wistful. She’d be damned if she let Jade walk away without telling her how she really felt. 

Jade turned back slowly, hand still in Tori’s possession, until they were face-to-face and, after Tori reached out to take her other one, hand-in-hand. When their gaze met, as blue-green eyes settled on brown ones, everything appeared to move in slow motion. 

They stood quiet for a beat, staring into each other’s eyes, silently expressing every thought, every emotion. Then, without an ounce of hesitation, Tori stepped forward, closing the gap that had settled between them. She let go of Jade’s hands and moved to cup her face instead. 

The gesture caught Jade by surprise. She wasn’t usually one to let anyone touch her face—or any other part of her body—but because it was Tori, she let it happen. In response, she rested her hands on Tori’s waist, excitement flaring in her brown eyes at the touch. 

“I like you too, Jade, a lot,” Tori admitted, eyes scanning between blue-green eyes and soft pink lips as her thumbs absentmindedly caressed Jade’s cheeks. 

Although she had plenty more to say—her own confession—that all went out the window when Jade looked her dead in the eye and outright demanded, “Kiss me.” 

For Tori, hearing those two words escape Jade’s lips was like living out a dream. She couldn’t believe that everything that had just happened was real. That the feelings she had for Jade West were reciprocated, and that she was seconds away from kissing her again, for real this time. 

Time froze around them as Tori closed her eyes, leaned forward, and captured Jade’s lips with hers. She kissed her slowly, savoring the taste of her mouth, enjoying the feel of her lips as they molded with her own, and relishing the faint sound of a moan that Jade had so reluctantly emitted. 

The kiss was exactly what she had yearned for since they pulled away after their performance, but it greatly surpassed that one, or any of the ones before. It was gentle, passionate, and had far more meaning behind it. There was no denying this kiss was Jade and Tori, not Jack and Rose. 

It was Jade who pulled back first, desperate for air and a strange need to see Tori. She looked at her as they pulled apart, only slightly, and watched her touch her lips with her index finger, tracing where her own mouth had been only seconds before. As she did, Tori gazed back at her with a glint of something in her eyes, something Jade had never seen in her before: lust.

Inside, Jade was desperately trying to keep it together, because between their breathtaking—literally— kiss and Tori’s stare, she was sure she was going to come undone. 

“So… do you want to come back inside and finish the movie?” Tori asked, breaking her out of her trance. 

“I think I should probably go,” Jade admitted. “It’s not that I don’t want to hang out with you. Believe me, I do. It’s just—”

“I get it. This was a lot to take in,” Tori said, interrupting her. She let out a nervous laugh, suddenly very aware of how close they still were. It really hit her that she and Jade had not only confessed their feelings for each other, but sealed it off with a kiss. 

Jade nodded. She didn’t want to linger, to make this already semi-awkward moment worse, but there was something she was burning to ask. 

“Do you maybe want to do something Friday?” she asked, rubbing lightly at the back of her neck. 

“Are you asking me out?” Tori asked, wiggling her brows in that goofy way she did when she was uncontrollably excited—or begging for a hug.

“You know damn well that’s what I’m doing.”

“Ask me.” 

“Why are you like this?”

“Ask me,” Tori repeated, her smile widening with every second that passed.

Jade groaned. She hated how much Tori had a hold on her already. “Will you go out with me?”

“When?” 

“Friday, Vega,” Jade answered begrudgingly. “Will you go out with me on Friday?”

Tori waited a second, just to add a dramatic effect, then exclaimed, “Yes!”

“I already regret this,” Jade said with an eye roll. The small smile that pulled at the edge of her lips showed she wasn’t serious, but Tori didn’t believe her anyway. She’d come to understand  _ most _ of Jade’s sarcasm.

Before a silence could fall between them, Jade cleared her throat. Part of her wanted to offer Tori a goodbye kiss, but she settled for a smile—a rare full-tooth smile.

“I’ll see you around, Peaches,” she said as she winked at her. 

Tori wasn’t sure if it was the use of her favorite nickname or the flirty wink, or both, but whatever it was had her heart beating so hard she was sure the neighbors could hear it. 

* * *

Every hour, every minute, and every second that passed between Jade’s departure and their pending reunion in Sikowitz’ class on Monday, was like torture. Of course they spent the majority of it—every second they were awake—texting back and forth about random things: how Jade was in the market for a new pair of scissors, how Trina came home only minutes after Jade left, still a little tipsy. 

But at one point on Sunday evening, when enough time had passed for them to reflect on the events of their weekend together—one part in particular—the conversation moved away from casual discussions about nothing to talking about their date, or Tori asking as many questions as she could possibly get answered, which, with Jade, weren’t much.

Jade was very secretive about her plans, so much so that Tori thought she had none. But little did she know, she had it all figured out. She’d spent a large portion of her Saturday night—once she was home, showered, and in bed, watching a horror documentary—thinking about it, mulling it over in her head, and refining every detail. By the middle of the night, she had it all ironed out. Still, Tori tried. The conversation would move to something else, and she’d bring it back around with a random inquiry. For every question that Tori asked, Jade tried to keep it as vague as she could. 

When Tori arrived at school on Monday, she was practically skipping down the halls to get to Sikowitz’ classroom, where she already knew Jade was waiting. Lucky for her, that level of energy at 7:55 a.m. wasn’t suspicious, or out of the ordinary, and she didn’t set off any alarms.

“Good morning!” she said with a big grin as she stepped into the classroom. It was meant for Jade, but everyone who was already in the room murmured their half-asleep greetings. Clearly none of them had as good of a weekend as she did.

“Someone’s alert this morning,” Jade said, a cocky smirk dancing on her lips as she looked at her. It wasn’t suspicious, in fact, it was about as Jade as she could make it. “Did Trina spike your coffee with Red Bull again?”

“That has never happened,” Tori defended. She strutted past her and made her way over to her usual seat in the front. While there was no assigned seating in the class, everyone had their favorite spots. 

“Nobody believes you,” Jade countered.

“One time,” Cat began, turning in her chair to look between Jade and Tori, “my brother drank so much Red Bull we had to take him to the hospital.”

Jade rolled her eyes in vexation. “Riveting story, Cat.”

“It turned out it wasn’t actually Red Bull,” Cat continued.

“Oh, there’s more,” Jade said with feigned interest. 

“What was it?” Tori asked, her curiosity aroused.

Cat laughed, paused to speak, then laughed again. “It was just nail polish.”

Tori’s brown eyes widened with bewilderment. “Just nail polish?” 

While everyone was very accustomed to Cat’s random—oftentimes concerning—anecdotes, there were some occasions, such as this one, where there wasn’t a single person in the room that wasn’t stunned by her revelation.

“Is anyone else wondering how Cat’s brother is still alive?” André chimed in, a perplexed look on his face. “The dude has been through a lot.”

“Why did he think nail polish was Red Bull? I— I have so many questions,” Tori stated. 

The whole room filled with an overwhelming choir of questions and comments directed at Cat, who answered to the best of her ability, until Sikowitz came in, seconds before the bell, and all attention was rapidly diverted to him.

“Five… four… three… two… one!” he said dramatically, counting down with his fingers before the bell went off, welcoming the start of first period. “You’re free!”

A few students in the back stood up to leave, and the class watched in confusion.

“I meant you’re free from your assignment, but go on,” Sikowitz shrugged, shooing them away with his hand. 

“So we can say no to things again?” Robbie asked. 

“Yes,” Sikowitz said, “but I hope you learned a valuable lesson.” 

As he transitioned into his lesson for the day, Tori’s focus dissipated and thoughts of Jade and their date filled her mind. She was so invested in them, that by the time she redirected her attention to the stage, Sikowitz was no longer standing there. Instead, he sat off to the side, consumed by Robbie and Cat’s attempt to master his Speed Conversations exercise.

While everyone was engrossed by the performance, Tori sneakily grabbed her purse from the ground and sat it on her lap. She kept her eyes on the stage, as to appear to be watching, and fished for her phone. She took it out—only halfway so that it wasn’t obvious—searched for her desired contact, typed out a few words, and hit the send button. 

_ Is there a dress code? _

It took a strong will for her to not turn around and look back at Jade, to watch her read and answer her message. Instead she kept her eyes on their message thread, tapping the screen to keep it from going dark, and watching as the three little dots appeared to indicate Jade was typing. The sight made Tori internally giddy.

**Jade✂️:** _You’ve been here almost two years and you’re asking about dress codes?_

_ For our date _

**Jade✂️:** _Whatever is comfortable_

_ That wasn’t helpful at all 😩 _

**Jade✂️:** _ You’re never going to guess what we’re doing 🙄 so stop asking questions _

**Jade✂️:** _ Pay attention or I’ll volunteer you to go next 😉 _

Afraid she’d eventually get caught texting in class, Tori closed out of her phone, tucked it back into the bag, and set it down on the floor. As she came back up, she slowly turned her body to look at Jade, pretending to be stretching her back. When Jade looked up from her phone and made eye contact with her, she flashed a quick-but-charming smile and Jade shot her one back. 

Tori smiled to herself as she shifted back to face the front, a rosy tint creeping onto her cheeks. It didn’t even matter if anybody noticed—they didn’t—nothing could really drop her from the cloud she was sitting on since Jade confessed her feelings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I may or may not be on Tumblr… You may or may not be able to find me at @GrounderRecords. Come say hi hi!


	9. Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First dates aren't always perfect, but this one is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is lyrics from Mine by Taylor Swift.

On the afternoon of her much-anticipated date with Jade, Tori stood pacing around her room, anxiously awaiting her arrival. She’d been at it for the last ten minutes, occasionally glancing at her phone to check the time—and to see if Jade had texted. 

It’d been almost two hours since she got home from school with Trina and immediately dashed upstairs to get ready. Even though she had plenty of time—Jade had promised to pick her up at five—she was far too anxious to wait around, and needed something to distract her. After a shower, a few outfit changes, and a decent amount of time spent fixing herself up in front of the bathroom mirror, she was ready to go.

At 4:56 p.m. she checked the time again, sighing as she realized she still had four minutes left to wait. With each second that passed she felt herself grow more and more nervous. 

The nerves had hit her out of nowhere. Everything she felt leading up to that point had been a mixture of excitement and anticipation, with a healthy dose of curiosity. But as she gave herself one final glance over in the mirror, it all just started to sink in. She was really about to go on a date with Jade West. 

When her phone vibrated in her hand at 4:58 p.m. she almost dropped it as she fumbled to check the message. 

**Jade✂️:** I’m here

The text wasn’t quite the romantic ‘bring flowers to her door’ type of beginning to a date, but it was what they both wanted. They knew if Jade came and knocked on the door, that Trina would quickly put two and two together, and neither one was ready for her, or anyone, to find out about their date.

Seconds after reading Jade’s text, Tori gathered her things, popped a breath mint, and took one last deep breath before exiting her room and making her way over to the living room, where she was fully expecting to be interrogated by Trina. 

“Where are you going?” Trina asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice. She was sprawled out on the couch, eating a pint of ice cream, and watching a marathon of _The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills_ —evidently still trying to recover from last weekend.

“Robbie and I have to go see a play for Sikowitz’ class,” Tori lied. She made sure to keep her voice as even as possible, as to avoid any slips. 

While getting ready, she had spent a good chunk of her time coming up with excuses to tell Trina, because knowing her sister, she was bound to inquire. Eventually she settled on this one, since she knew bringing up Robbie was a sure way to make Trina uninterested. Plus, he was on a camping trip with his cousins and there was no fear of him posting on The Slap, potentially ruining her cover.

“Dressed like that?” Trina questioned skeptically, gesturing to Tori’s outfit with her spoon. 

Tori was dressed in a floral off-the-shoulder top and denim shorts—the perfect combination of cute and comfortable. It had taken a lot of begging and pleading to get Jade to reveal even the slightest hint of where they were going, but it ultimately paid off when she accidentally let it slip that they would be outdoors. 

“It’s a high school play at Northridge, Trina,” Tori lied again, “we’re not going to the theatre.”

“That all sounds terrible,” Trina said before shoving a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, “haf ‘un.”

“Okay! Bye!” Tori exclaimed rather quickly as she opened the door and made her exit, trying to curtail the conversation.

A fresh wave of nerves swept through her as she made the short—yet seemingly long—walk from the house to the driveway. Chills skittered up and down her spine the second she rounded the corner and caught sight of Jade, who stood leaning back against the passenger side of her car, twirling her phone in her hands. It was all _really_ happening. 

At first glance, Tori gave her a quick once-over, taking in her mesh long sleeve dress, black tights, and her staple Doc Martens. She made a mental note of how hot Jade looked, and hoped her face didn’t outright show it. 

“Took you long enough. I thought maybe you chickened out,” Jade said when Tori came into view, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice. 

There weren’t many things that made Jade sweaty-palms and quickened-heartbeat nervous—she could count them all in one hand—but she’d quickly come to find out that Tori was absolutely one of them. And when she first laid eyes on her as she appeared from the walkway, she knew was done for. She looked good. No, she looked _really_ good. 

“No, just had to get past Trina,” Tori replied, making her way over to where Jade stood.

“How’d you manage that?” 

“I told her I had to go to a play with Robbie.”

As Tori approached, Jade pushed off the car and opened the door for her. “And she bought that?” 

Tori nodded a response then stepped around her to climb into the passenger seat. 

“Why, thank you,” she said, flashing her a smile.

Jade’s lips curled into a half smile. “Don’t mention it.” 

Once Tori settled in, Jade gently closed the door, walked around the back of the car, and slipped into the driver’s seat. After starting the engine and lowering the volume of her music to a more acceptable level, she picked up one of the two coffee cups in the cup holders and looked at Tori.

“Is that for me?” Tori asked, excitement coating her tone. 

“No they’re for the other girl I’m on a date with,” Jade quipped, then offered her the drink. “Yes, idiot. It’s for you.”

Tori took the cup from Jade’s hands, smiled, and said, “That date of yours is quite the lucky girl.”

To her, that gesture was ten times more romantic than flowers. 

“Okay, dork,” Jade said, shaking her head as she buckled up. “This is what dating you is gonna be like, huh?”

“What do you mean?” Tori asked in feigned naivety, bringing the cup up to her lips to hide her smile. She couldn’t help but get excited by Jade’s word choice. Dating: that clearly implied more than one date.

Jade turned to look over her shoulder as she backed out of the driveway. “You being this cheesy.” 

“You knew what you were getting when you asked me out,” Tori said as she lowered the cup to rest in her lap, no longer trying to mask the smile that just kept growing. “I’m like an extra cheesy pizza!” 

Her nerves were finally starting to settle down. It seemed being in Jade’s presence, as nerve-wracking as that usually was, was actually kind of calming now.

“What’s the return policy on this extra cheesy pizza?” Jade asked, keeping her eyes on the road. 

“Didn’t you read the fine print?” Tori questioned, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. “No returns. You get what you get.”

Jade cast her a quick glance before diverting her attention back to the road. “I guess I can live with that.”

Before a silence could settle in, as Jade turned out of the neighborhood and set off for their destination, Tori eagerly announced, “I made you a playlist.” 

“You made me a playlist?” 

“Yeah! Remember the other day when you said all I ever listen to is Katy Perry and Taylor Swift?”

“I still stand by my statement,” Jade asserted, raising a finger for emphasis. “Wait, you didn’t make me a playlist with their music on it, did you? Because as thoughtful as that is, I—”

“Don’t worry, neither of them are on here,” Tori reassuringly interjected as she pulled out her phone. “It’s music I like that’s not top 40.”

Jade was silent for a second, then, after pulling up to a red light, turned to look at Tori, a glint of elation flickering across her blue-green eyes. 

“Well, are you going to show me?” she asked.

“I’ll need to connect to your Bluetooth,” Tori instructed, already opening the Settings app on her phone. 

Her hands trembled with excitement as she navigated to the Bluetooth section, while Jade used the last few seconds she had before the light turned green to mess with the settings on her dashboard.

“I hope you know I’ve never given anyone access to my system before,” she said, returning her attention to the road, “you’re the first one.”

“I feel so honored,” Tori said, placing a hand on her heart. “I promise to not ruin this great moment by playing pop music.” 

“I’m taking you at your word, Peaches.” 

It took a few minutes for Tori’s phone to connect to the car’s system, but as soon as it did, she pulled up the playlist on her Spotify app and hovered her finger over the play button.

“It’s meant to be listened to in the exact order I made it and not on shuffle,” she advised.

Jade nodded in understanding. She was secretly on pins and needles, waiting to see what kind of specially-curated playlist Tori had assembled just for her. 

Seconds later, Arctic Monkeys’ _R U Mine?_ ripped through the speakers, filling the car with a mix of thumping drums and heavy guitar riffs. Jade let it play through the end of the first chorus—lip-syncing along to every word—before lowering the volume enough to speak.

“How did you know I like Arctic Monkeys?” she asked, surprise etched onto her features. She wasn’t exactly an open book about many things, and her love for certain music was one of them. 

“I didn’t, but I do too. See, I told you we have a lot more in common than you think.” 

“You got one. I wouldn’t get _too_ cocky.”

“Just keep listening,” Tori ordered, “you’ll see I’m right.”

Jade didn’t argue. Instead, they spent the rest of the fifteen minute drive in comfortable silence, listening to as much of the playlist as they could get through. It wasn’t much—a Tame Impala song, a St. Vincent song, a Young the Giant song, and a Sleater-Kinney song—but it made Jade realize that Tori was right. They really had a lot more in common than she ever noticed.

* * *

As Jade pulled into a small, open lot and parked her car, Tori sat in the passenger seat, swaying side-to-side with her eyes shut and singing along to HAIM’s _You Never Knew._ She didn’t even notice they had arrived until Jade lowered the volume to an inaudible level and cleared her throat. 

“Why did you do that?” Tori asked, a flash of concern crossing her face as she turned to look at her. “Did you not like that one?”

“We’re here, dingus,” Jade said then pointed past her toward their soon-to-be date spot. 

Tori spun her head to follow her gaze and let out an audible gasp when her eyes settled on a small lake in the near distance, her mouth falling open in succession. 

“Oh chiz!” she cried out in excitement, turning her attention back to Jade, catching only the back of her right leg as she exited the vehicle. 

“Stay there,” Jade instructed, popping her head back into the car.

Between the exhilaration of the moment and the nerves that slightly crept back up, Tori couldn’t even move from her seat if she wanted to. She waited patiently as Jade opened the door to the back seat, pulled out a few things, and closed it back. In seconds, she was around to the other side, pulling the passenger door open for her.

The first thing Tori noticed as the door opened and Jade came into view, was an enclosed wicker basket hanging from her left arm and a black blanket tucked under the other one. The realization hit her like a freight train: Jade was taking her on a lakeside picnic.

“Can I help you carry anything?” she asked as she took the hand Jade offered her and stepped out of the car. She tried to downplay her reaction, to not make it obvious that she was freaking out over how wildly romantic she thought Jade was.

“No, I’ve got it,” Jade replied, “but I will take my coffee if you don’t mind grabbing it.”

For Tori, it was the least she could do. She let go of Jade’s hand, which she almost didn’t realize she was still holding, and picked up both drinks from the cup holders. 

They made their way down a beaten path, Jade leading the way, as Tori walked directly beside her, trying to contain her heart as it beat like a drum-filled rock track against her rib cage. The closer they got to the water, the louder it thumped. She had no idea how she was going to make it through their date, when she could barely handle the lead up. 

As they neared the lake, Jade was a girl on a mission, searching for the perfect location to settle down on. Eventually she found a spot off to the side, as far away from a nearby hiking trail as possible.

“Is this good?” she asked Tori, pointing to the area she had picked out. 

Being asked for her opinion by Jade was a rather foreign concept to Tori, but she was thrilled to chime in, saying, “Yes, it’s perfect.” 

With Tori’s backing, Jade set out to prepare their spot. She temporarily placed the basket on the grass, unfolded the large blanket that was under her arm, and laid it out for them to sit on.

“Care to join?” she asked as she knelt down on the blanket, a hand out to offer some assistance.

But Tori took the motion as a request for her drink—those damn nerves—so she handed her one of the coffee cups she was holding and went to sit down on her own. Just as she moved to sit, Jade extended her free hand.

“Thanks,” Tori said bashfully, taking her hand and using it for support as she sat down cross-legged beside her.

“Relax, Vega,” Jade said reassuringly, noticing her hand was a little shaky as she held it. She let go once Tori was sitting, but looked at her as she added, “I’m not going to hurt you.” 

“I am relaxed,” Tori said through a half-nervous laugh. “All sorts of relaxed!” 

Jade sat down and chuckled. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“Okay, maybe I’m a little nervous, like this much,” Tori said then held up two fingers a few centimeters apart to demonstrate, “but I’m not nervous because I think you’ll hurt me. I know you won’t hurt me. You just… you make me a little nervous, but like a good nervous… it’s… like it’s a nice nervous… you—”

“Hey Tori,” Jade interrupted, placing a hand on her knee and rubbing it soothingly with her thumb, “you’re rambling.” 

Tori froze at the touch, her gaze drawn to the way Jade’s thumb danced across her skin. It was captivating and nerve-wracking all wrapped in one, but she forced herself to look away.

“So, uh, what’s in the basket?” she asked, quick to change the subject when her eyes settled on the picnic basket that was still on the grass behind Jade. 

At that, Jade pulled her hand away and turned to reach for the object in question. “Food mostly. You know, the usual contents of a picnic basket.”

“You don’t have to be such a smartass,” Tori said with an eye roll, earning a raised eyebrow from Jade. It wasn’t a common occurrence to hear a real, honest-to-God curse word slip from her lips. “I meant what _kind_ of food.” 

“I’m inclined not to tell you, since you called me a smartass,” Jade began, setting the basket down in front of her, fingers tracing the center opening almost teasingly. “But, I did plan a pretty fucking fantastic date and this here,” she added, patting the closed top, “is an essential part of it.” 

“I’m sorry I called you a smartass. Now, can I please know what’s in there?” 

“Hm,” Jade mused, drumming her fingers in a rhythmic pattern against the top. 

Tori leaned forward, as if looking over the enclosed basket would magically open it. “Jade, come on!”

“You’re so damn impatient,” Jade said, shaking her head chidingly as she opened the basket. 

Despite her ever-growing anticipation, Tori sat back and waited for Jade to disclose the contents herself. 

When she felt Tori was ready, Jade reached in, pulled out a small box of Raisin Bran, and handed it to her. “This is for you, Officer Pedesco.”

“I can’t believe you brought Raisin Bran on a date,” Tori said with a joyful smile as she took the small cereal box from Jade’s hands and inspected it. She already planned to save it as a reminder of their first date.

Jade shrugged. “It felt appropriate.”

“And you remembered my character and her obsession with it too.”

“How could I not? She was very rambunctious.”

“She was not!” Tori defended as if she was speaking ill of her own person. 

“You yelled the entire night. Do you know how hard it was not to stuff that cereal box in your mouth the second you started talking?”

“Betsy Goldenheart wouldn’t dare!” Tori said, letting out a gasp of mock surprise. “She was just a sweet, innocent farmer from Alabama who would never get upset over _anything_!” 

“You don’t know Betsy like I do,” Jade said with a wink. 

Suddenly, the memories of their sleepover at Sikowitz’ house replayed in Tori’s head. It’d been a long time since she thought about that weird, yet entertaining night. Through all her recollections of it, she could only see Jade, while Sikowitz and the rest of her friends were like a blur. She remembered it was the last time she saw Jade with brown hair, and how the next time she saw her after that, she had darkened it to black and added blue and green highlights. She vividly recalled how the air had rushed out of her lungs the moment she saw her new look.

As she reflected on it, she came to realize she’d been secretly crushing on Jade since as far back as a year ago. It surprised her that she paid such little attention to the signs. 

“I think I’ve liked you since then,” she unintentionally admitted, and Jade looked at her with interest. 

“Since that day?” 

“Around that time, yeah,” Tori corrected. 

“So, you’ve liked me for a year and you waited until I embarrassed myself with my confession to tell me how you feel?”

“To be fair, you were with Beck for most of it,” Tori reminded her, “and honestly, I had no clue that I was even crushing on you.”

“I guess I’m not one to talk, huh?” Jade asked rhetorically, a hint of a smirk creeping at the edge of her mouth. “We’re both guilty of liking each other and not doing shit about it.”

“True, but guess what? We’re here now”—Tori pointed down at the ground—“on a real date!” 

“You’re very observant, Peaches.”

Tori rolled her eyes. “Hardy har har.”

“Can I interest you in the rest of what I packed or are you good with your Raisin Bran?” Jade, asked, bringing their attention back to the contents of the basket. 

“Please, continue.” 

One by one, Jade pulled out the remaining items: an assortment of bite-sized fruit, a small veggie tray, individually packaged chips, a couple of pretzels and hummus cups, and a pair of almond croissants from their special café. After each reveal, Tori would gasp in awe, genuinely amazed by the level of detail that Jade had so clearly put into everything.

“Jade, this is amazing,” Tori said with an ear-to-ear smile. “It’s so thoughtful.”

“There’s one more thing,” Jade said as she fetched a container from the bottom of the basket. She pulled it out, opened the lid, and placed it on the blanket, next to the rest of the food. 

“Aw, these are so cute!” Tori exclaimed, picking up one of the mini sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap and examining it. “Did you make them?”

Jade nodded. “Yeah, but they’re just sandwiches, Vega. Don’t get too excited.” 

“Too late! Especially knowing you made them,” Tori said as she unwrapped the sandwich for a more thorough inspection. 

“Before you defile my hard work, I'll just tell you that they’re all turkey on wheat with lettuce, tomato, and light mayo.”

“That’s my favorite!” Tori declared, a twinkle of delight in her eyes. 

“What? Really? I had _no_ idea,” Jade said with feigned surprise. 

“How did you know?”

“I pay attention,” Jade admitted with a laid-back shrug. 

“Clearly! I mean, look at this,” Tori said, gesturing to the spread of food between them on the blanket and then out toward the lake, “it’s like you ransacked my brain and discovered my idea of a perfect date.”

“Are you suggesting this is a perfect date?” 

“Well, the night is young…”

Jade shot her a fake glare. “Oh.”

“I’m just kidding!” Tori immediately defended, afraid she had upset her. “I thought it was perfect the moment I saw the lake.” 

“Not before?”

“No… Yes,” Tori confessed, covering her face with her hand to hide her blush. “From the moment I walked out and saw you standing by your car, waiting for me.”

“Thought so,” Jade said with a self-satisfied smile as she reached over to grab a sandwich. 

After a minute or so, Tori lowered her hand, revealing a barely noticeable tint on her cheeks, which Jade kind of found amusing, but she kept it to herself. There would be plenty more time to tease her.

* * *

Nearly twenty minutes passed as they ate and conversed, only ever falling into silence when they had to chew their food. It felt like time had frozen around them as they settled into this new territory, both completely intoxicated by each other’s presence. 

At some point in their conversation, after the remaining food had been packed and the basket set aside to be forgotten, they both readjusted themselves to be closer—though not close enough. They sat with their legs stretched out, leaning back on their hands, and looking out onto the still water. 

Although their bodies were several inches apart, their hands rested only centimeters away from each other, enough to both feel the warmth of the other, but neither daring to close that gap—at least not at first. 

It was Tori who suddenly mustered the strength to do it—as Jade was mid-sentence—sliding her pinkie just far enough to graze Jade’s. As a reaction, Jade paused for a microsecond, the touch catching her by complete surprise, but she played it off like nothing happened, her finger grazing Tori’s right back. 

They stayed like that for a while, fingers playfully dancing around each other as they answered rapid-fire questions that they posed to one another. 

“What’s your middle name?” Tori asked. It was her turn to go.

“Uh-uh, next question.”

“Come on! We agreed to answer everything,” Tori said emphatically, “and honestly!”

Jade rolled her eyes. She knew from the moment she agreed to answer all of Tori’s burning questions—personal and random, though mostly personal—that she was taking a big risk. When it came to opening up, she had always kept her cards close to her chest, revealing only as much as she wanted everyone to know. But with Tori it was different, at least it was starting to be. She had found herself willing to let her in, bit by bit, and trust her, which to Jade, was always the hardest part.

“Autumn,” she eventually revealed after a few seconds of pensive silence. 

“Jade Autumn West,” Tori said, the words rolling off her lips as if she’d uttered them a million times. “I think it’s beautiful.” 

“Don’t tell—”

“Anyone,” Tori interjected, finishing her sentence. At this point, she knew the song and dance by heart.

Ever since they started spending more time together, it was always the same routine. Jade would reveal something about herself, willingly or by accident, and immediately go on the defense, which usually meant a Jade-like version of a threat. 

“You know, sooner or later, you’re gonna have to trust me,” Tori added, a hint of desperation tingeing her voice. 

“I know,” Jade responded and it caught Tori—whose mouth was open in preparation to defend herself—entirely off guard. 

“Oh.” Tori let out a relieved sigh.

“Just don’t take it personal if I don’t immediately open up. It’s not that I don’t want to… well, actually, I don’t. I’m just not wired the same way. I can’t just voice my innermost thoughts because you like to ask questions,” Jade confessed, looking over at her so she knew she was being honest, “but I’ll try.”

Tori returned the look, a smile pulling at her lips as Jade spoke. “Whatever you say to me now, or ever, it’s between you and me. I’m not going to break that trust.” 

“I believe you,” Jade said, nodding her head. She didn’t want to dwell on the matter any further, so she changed the subject. “So, what’s yours?”

“What’s my what?”

“Your middle name. Prudence?” Jade asked, smirking. She was strangely stuck on that nickname, though she had no idea why.

“That joke burnt out ages ago, Jade Autumn,” Tori teased, a mimicking smile on her lips, “but no, it’s Elena.”

“Hm, like Elena Gilbert,” Jade murmured.

Tori quirked a brow in confusion. “Who?”

Jade hadn’t realized she said that out loud until Tori questioned her, and her cheeks flushed a rare pink in response. 

“It’s a character from”—she paused for a second, contemplating whether or not to continue, then muttered—“Vampire Diaries.” 

“Judging by that reaction, I’m guessing Nina’s?” Tori asked unabashed. 

“One of two she portrays, yeah.”

Tori suddenly felt confident. “You still think I don’t look like her?”

For a moment, Jade scanned her face. She didn’t need to see her to know there were similarities, she had noticed them countless times before. But she’d take any opportunity to look at her, to appreciate the way the warm light of the sunset bounced off her tanned skin, highlighting just how beautiful she was.

Seconds passed and Jade was still silent, gazing at Tori, who patiently awaited her response—and an opportunity to tease her for staring. 

“Hello, Earth to Jade!” she called out, waving a hand—the one that wasn’t still playing with Jade’s—in front of her face. 

Jade shook the thoughts from her head. “What?”

“You were staring.”

“I was assessing,” Jade corrected, holding a finger up. “I still don’t see it.”

“Who’s the terrible liar now?” 

“Still you, Tori Elena.”

“Victoria,” Tori corrected. 

“Huh, Victoria Elena Vega,” Jade said, letting the name echo in her head. “It’s… nice.”

“I give you beautiful and you give me ...nice?” 

“What? It’s a nice name.”

“Nice is what you say about a decent cup of coffee, Jade, not your date!” 

“I said your name is nice,” Jade said with a low chuckle, “not once did I use that to describe you.”

“Oh? How would you describe me then?” Tori asked curiously. Her confidence was surging, and she found herself inching her hand closer to Jade’s, taking her pinky in hers.

This time, Jade looked down at the touch, eyes settling on their intertwined fingers. “A nuisance.”

“Am I at least a cute nuisance?” 

Jade looked up at her again like she was considering the question. She gave Tori’s pinky a soft squeeze and replied, in the most casual way possible, “Yes, a cute nuisance.”

A satisfied smile snuck across Tori’s face and she wiggled her eyebrows in a playful manner. “Jade Autumn West thinks I’m cute.”

“Don’t make me regret telling you that.”

“What? That I’m... cute?” Tori asked, teasingly elongating the word “cute” until she was met with a trademark blue-green-eyed glare. 

“You’re lucky I left my scissors in the car,” Jade said in jest. 

“You wouldn’t…”

“Oh, I would.”

Tori gasped, placing her free hand on her chest, pretending to be scandalized. “Even on a date?”

“Is it really that surprising?” 

“No, actually, it definitely lines up,” Tori said nodding her head. Suddenly something dawned on her, and she looked at Jade with a devilish grin. “So, if you’re not above pulling out your scissors on me, on our first date might I add, why aren’t they on you?”

“I forgot them,” Jade lied, though she wasn’t exactly trying to hide the fact that she did so. 

“Forgot, huh? This coming from the girl who keeps them on her body at all times and sleeps with them under her pillow.” 

“What can I say? I’m human,” Jade said with a shrug, “we make mistakes, we forget a thing or two.”

Tori waved her off. “No, you left them in the car on purpose.”

“And why would I do that?” 

“Because this is a date and you’re being respectful.”

“That doesn’t sound like me at all,” Jade objected.

Tori didn’t budge, just looked at her with a you-can’t-convince-me-otherwise expression on her face until Jade sighed and rolled her eyes. 

“Fine, whatever, it _was_ on purpose,” she revealed. 

Instead of gloating, as Jade expected her to do, Tori leaned across the blanket and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you,” she said softly as she pulled back enough to look at her.

To say Jade was caught off guard by the gesture was a vast understatement. Even after Tori’s lips had departed from her pale skin, her cheek was still ablaze with the warmth that they left behind. She had to take a few seconds to gather herself, to process the moment. It wasn’t like her to have such a strong reaction to something as simple as a kiss on the cheek, but Tori seemed to elicit feelings and emotions from her that she didn’t even know she had. 

As soon as she regained her composure, she pushed off the blanket and leaned forward. Her hand reached up to delicately cup Tori’s face as she gazed into brown eyes, silently seeking permission. 

Tori’s response was to reach up and wrap her fingers around Jade’s wrist, keeping her exactly where she was. It was an unspoken go-ahead, and Jade obliged rather quickly, pressing her lips onto Tori’s and pulling her into a slow, soft embrace. 

“You’re welcome,” she mumbled into the kiss before pulling away and returning to the same position she had been in no more than a minute before. 

It wasn’t that she wanted to end it so fast, hell, if she could she’d kiss her until dawn, but everything was so new, so out of their normal, that she didn’t want to mess it up. It felt so unlike her to care so much, but Tori had a way of doing that to her lately.

A brief, comfortable silence settled between them following their embrace, and Tori used it as an opportunity to lay down on her back next to Jade—a little closer than she had been before. The kiss had left her in somewhat of a daze, almost like she was floating from sheer happiness. She could hear her heart pounding in an all-too familiar rhythm, the one she recently discovered only Jade could cause. 

“This ground is not very comfortable,” she revealed after laying for a few minutes. She’d been a little too preoccupied to notice at first, but now she was trying each and every angle to get better situated, and nothing was working. 

Jade watched her through it all, an amused smile tugging at her lips as she observed her. 

“You can lay on my lap,” she nonchalantly suggested, “if you want.”

Without even letting Jade finish her sentence, Tori practically scrambled up into a sitting position and shifted her body so that she could lay perpendicular to Jade, resting the back of her head on her thighs, near her knees. It was surprisingly comfortable. 

“Oh, this is so much better,” Tori stated, stretching her legs out along the width of the blanket. 

“Enjoy the free trial,” Jade said, looking down at her, lips still pulled into an amused grin, “the next time you rent the space it’ll come with a fee.” 

Tori raised a brow, curious to know what that fee could be—and why Jade was suggesting there would be a next time—but she decided against asking. She wasn’t sure her already fast-beating heart could take it. 

* * *

For a prolonged moment, they reveled in the peace and quiet of their surroundings, just silently enjoying each other’s company. They remained like that for a while: Tori’s head resting in Jade’s lap, facing away from her, and gazing out on the sunset as it reflected off the lake, while Jade sat leaning back like before, hands planted on the blanket behind her, and looking down at Tori, eyes settled on the brown hair that cascaded over her lap. 

As she took it all in, Jade absentmindedly reached out and fiddled with a loose lock of Tori’s hair that laid against her thigh. She still hadn’t fully wrapped her head around the idea that she was on a date with her. Sure, she was the one who planned everything—down to the last detail—but she was so consumed with making it perfect, that nothing really set in until after their kiss, as they sat there, comfortably in their new arrangement. 

After everything, it was nice not to have to pretend anymore, or push away feelings that were so desperately trying to come out. And even though the thought of dating Tori made her kind of nervous—she was human after all—she was still eager to see where things could go. 

Like Jade, Tori was quietly soaking it all in. Of all the scenarios that had played out in her head in anticipation for their date, none of them had included a picnic with such a beautiful view. Though as gorgeous as the view was, it held no candle to the raven-haired, blue-green eyed girl she was currently resting her head on.

Everything felt almost dream-like and unreal: she was on a date with Jade, laying out by a lake, bonding and getting to know her better than she ever thought she could. She didn’t want their evening to end. Not yet. 

“I’m having fun with you,” she randomly admitted, rousing Jade out of her thoughts. She turned her head to look at her, a soft smile gracing her lips when she noticed she was playing with her hair. 

Despite the fact that Tori had caught her, Jade continued. “Are you?” 

“Yes, I’m having _a lot_ of fun with you.” Tori emphatically amended herself. 

Jade shrugged. “I’m having an okay time, I guess.”

“Liar.” 

“Your company is just so-so.”

“Should I leave then?” Tori asked, slowly lifting up from where she laid. 

At that, Jade stopped twirling the hair on her finger and moved her hand to rest on Tori’s shoulder.

“I was kidding,” she said, gently pushing her back down, “lay back.”

“Good, because I don’t have another ride, or any idea of where we are,” Tori said with a laugh as she returned her head to Jade’s lap. 

“We’re near my old neighborhood,” Jade informed her, like that would be much help.

“Hm, I guess that would explain it.” 

“Explain what?” 

“You don’t just stumble onto a random lake by chance. I figured you’d been here before,” Tori said.

“My parents and I used to come here a lot when I was younger,” Jade confessed. Then, in a more candid tone, she added, “Back when we had a semblance of a relationship.”

“Thank you for sharing it with me,” Tori said sincerely, taking the hand on her shoulder that Jade never moved and clutching it in hers. She tilted her head up to gaze at her, a soft smile curling her lips. “It’s beautiful.”

It didn’t go unnoticed by her that Jade had trusted her enough to disclose that. It was no secret that in the long list of things she never liked to discuss, her relationship with her parents was at the top of it, and Tori couldn’t help but feel a little honored that she was comfortable enough to even mention them. 

“I had a feeling you’d like it, Peaches,” Jade said, looking down and meeting earnest brown eyes. She smiled back at her, unable to resist her infectious charm. 

* * *

Before the sun could fully dip below the horizon—their only source of light soon vanishing with it—they cleaned up, gathered their things, and set out on their short journey back to the car. 

They hadn’t even taken three steps before Tori’s hand not-so-accidentally grazed Jade’s, earning a soft chuckle from her in return.

“If you want to hold my hand, Vega, just ask,” Jade teased, “I won’t bite.” 

“Can I hold your hand?” 

“You didn’t _actually_ have to ask, dork,” Jade said in response, taking Tori’s hand as it swung loosely between them and interlacing their fingers. She noted the way they fit perfectly into each other, like puzzle pieces.

And Tori noticed it too. She relished in the newness of their contact, appreciating the way they molded together. She couldn’t quite contain the joy that holding her hand seemed to spark.

“Your hands are soft,” she said, running her finger over the back of Jade’s hand as she held it. 

Though it wasn’t the first time she’d held her hand—cue the flashbacks to their first rehearsal—it was the first time she felt comfortable enough to voice such a thought. 

“Why are you so weird?” Jade asked. 

“Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?”

“I’m not weird, I’m different, but you’re…” Jade began, purposely trailing off while she pretended to think of a word, “a weirdo.”

“And yet, you like me, what does that say about you?” 

“That I should seek help.”

“Hey! That’s rude!” Tori exclaimed, lightly bumping Jade’s shoulder with her own as they neared the car. 

“You like me too, what does that say about you then?”

“That I have a soft spot for mean girls.”

Jade shot her a curious glare. “Girls?”

“Only one mean girl in particular,” Tori said squeezing her hand. 

They reached the car and stopped in front of the passenger side rear door. When Jade opened it, Tori handed her the blanket she had so adamantly offered to take and Jade placed it on the seat along with the basket.

“Mean girls are preppy, annoying, and catty,” Jade said as she closed the passenger door. “I’m none of those things. Frankly, I’m a little offended that you’d even put me in the same category.”

“You don’t get offended, Jade,” Tori said matter-of-factly.

Jade lightly tugged at their clasped hands, pulling her toward her as she took a couple of steps back, her free hand reaching for the passenger door. 

“One date and suddenly you think you know me?” she asked, a smirk on her lips. 

Tori’s breath got caught at the back of her throat as she stepped into Jade’s space, staring into darkened blue-green eyes. 

“It doesn’t take a date to know you’re not easily offended,” she said, gulping as she watched Jade’s gaze flicker from her eyes to her parted lips. “That’s just common knowledge.”

“It’s also common knowledge that you talk _way_ too much,” Jade said before licking her lips. She tightened her grip around the door handle, leaving it there for a moment to help keep herself together. 

“I don’t talk too much! If anyone it’s Ca—”

Jade leaned forward and pressed her lips against Tori’s, silencing her mid-speech. As hard as she tried to hold back, she just couldn’t take another second without kissing her again, their last had left her wanting more—and more, and more.

This kiss was new, far more fervent than the ones before. Their lips moved in perfect tandem, a rhythm that seemed familiar to both, but neither had yet explored. When they pulled apart—a simultaneous need for air—their lips still ghosted over each other, both not ready to part entirely. 

“I think I could get used to that,” Tori whispered, her breath tickling Jade’s lips.

Jade raised a studded brow. “You think?”

“I could definitely get used to that.” 

“That’s what I thought.”

“For the record, I don’t talk too much,” Tori repeated her previous statement, softer this time as she continued to catch her breath. 

Jade pulled away, opened the passenger door, and waved her inside. “Sure thing, bud. Whatever you say.”

“Look at you, so chivalrous.” 

“Shut up and get in,” Jade said teasingly.

* * *

As Jade pulled into the Vega driveway, Tori suddenly realized that her dream-like night was coming to an end. When the car came to a complete stop, she made a half-hearted attempt to reach for the door handle, but halted when Jade turned off the engine and said, “I can walk you to the door, if you want.”

A bolt of excitement shot through her at the offer, which she was more than happy to accept, until she remembered her sister existed.

“Trina’s home. Are you sure you want to do that?” Tori asked, though she hoped Jade wouldn’t say no, she wanted nothing more than a few more minutes with her. 

“As nosy as your sister is, I don’t think she’s waiting up for you to get home from your play with Robbie.” 

Tori looked at her in surprise. “Oh! I forgot that’s what I told her.”

“Wow, what would you do without me?”

“Not go on the best date ever, for one thing.” 

“Geez, you’re such a sap,” Jade said, shaking her head as she exited the car. 

There was always something so awkward and anxiety-ridden about sitting in the passenger seat, waiting for a date to come around and open the door, but with Jade, Tori’s anxieties dissipated, replaced by an enthusiastic impatience instead. 

Once Tori got out, with Jade’s hand to help, they made their way, hand-in-hand, toward the front door. Although it was a relatively short distance, they walked slowly, extending the time as much as possible before they had to part. 

“I’m going to be completely honest with you,” Tori said as they trudged up the driveway, “I had a really good time today.”

“You might’ve mentioned it once or twice.” 

Tori flashed her a beaming smile. “Seriously, this was the best date I’ve ever been on.” 

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I know what you’re doing, Jade.”

“Please, enlighten me,” Jade said dryly. 

“You’re deflecting because you don’t want to admit you had a good time too.” 

“What if I just didn’t have a good time?”

“You would’ve dropped me off back there”—Tori pointed out toward the street—“then sped away as soon as I got out.” 

“Yeah… that checks out.” 

They reached the front door and stopped, keeping their hands intertwined as they stood across from each other. 

“So, you had a good time,” Tori stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“I did,” Jade confessed. She wasn’t going to rent out a skywriter to broadcast it, but she didn’t just have a good time with Tori, she had a great time. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Hm, I’ll have to check my calendar,” Tori said, pulling out her phone from her back pocket and pretending to look. “Looks like I’m all open.”

Jade smirked, a studded eyebrow raised in response. She resisted the urge to say something witty, and instead asked, “Can I see you?” 

“I don’t know, West, can you?” Tori retorted, trying her hand at a too-cool-for-you attitude, but it only made Jade laugh. 

“Please, never do that again,” she pleaded. 

Warmth rushed to Tori’s cheeks and she buried her face in her free hand to hide it.

“I’m so embarrassing,” she muttered, her voice partially muffled by her hand. 

“Yes, you are, but it’s okay,” Jade said, grabbing onto her wrist and gently pulling it toward her to reveal her face, “most people find that charming about you.”

Tori looked at her. “Do you?”

“Mm, can I plead the fifth?” 

“Only guilty people plead the fifth.”

“What are you? My lawyer?”

“No, but now that you mention it, based on the amount of breaking and entering you do, you should consider getting one.”

“Okay, I’ll mull that over the next time I break into your house.”

“So... about tomorrow...” Tori said, bringing their conversation back to where it had been before they went on a tangent. She was eager to see where Jade was going with that.

“Since you’re free, maybe we could see each other.”

“We never finished Titanic.” 

“Oh! You know what?” Jade began, snapping her fingers like she had a realization, “I just remembered that I have to take my brother to school tomorrow, sorry.”

“Jade, tomorrow is Saturday.”

“So? Kids go to school on Saturdays.”

“You’re just trying to get out of watching the movie with me, you liar.”

“Fine, we can finish that stupid movie,” Jade said. She gave in, but only because she knew it was a fight she couldn’t win. “But I’m only doing it because I want to see the ship sink.”

“Sure thing, bud. Whatever you say,” Tori mimicked her earlier response with a smug smirk lining her lips.

Jade let go of Tori’s hand and slowly backed away, glaring at her with an unreadable expression. “Goodnight, Vega.”

“No, come back. I was kidding!” Tori said a little louder than she wanted. Then, in a lower register, she added, “Please, I didn’t even get a kiss goodbye.” 

“Should’ve thought about that before you mocked me,” Jade said, still backing away, but slower now.

“You’re really just gonna leave?” 

Jade paused. “What? You gonna miss me?”

“No! I— Just…”

In a matter of a few seconds, Jade walked back to her, took her face in her hands, and planted a soft, departing kiss. “Goodnight.” 

When Tori opened her eyes after the embrace, Jade was already walking away. 

“Goodnight, Jade,” she returned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I may or may not be on Tumblr… You may or may not be able to find me at GrounderRecords. Come say hi hi!


	10. You call the shots, babe, I just wanna be yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade and Tori are ready to take things to the next level. But will they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Life (and the election) got in the way. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Chapter title is lyrics from I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys.

Two weeks went by in a blissful blur as Tori settled into her new normal: secretly dating Jade West. From movie dates—both at the Vega residence and once at Jade’s favorite theater—to after school make-out sessions in her room, to impromptu janitor’s closet meet-ups; their blossoming relationship had turned out to be quite the adventure—not that she expected anything less. 

Though the risk of getting caught was fairly high, keeping their secret at school proved to be relatively easy. No one ever noticed their stolen glances, their brief, shared smiles in passing, or the way Jade’s taunts and remarks weren’t as vicious as they once used to be. 

To avoid raising any red flags, they kept their normal distance at lunch and in class. When they did want to see each other—which happened often lately—the janitor’s closet became their safe haven. It wasn’t just a spot to make out, though they did their fair share of that, but a place in which they could see each other and not have to pretend anymore. Their meetings were short-lived and often rushed, but if you asked Tori, they were the best part of her school day.

Even pretending not to get along in front of their friends was a cake walk, and yet as easy as it was to fool them, Tori couldn’t help but feel remorse. To her, going behind her friends’ backs was the hardest part of their act. But at the end of the day, she wasn’t ready to share this with anyone, not even her own sister. 

At home, her biggest fear was that Trina would find out, especially as Jade’s visits were more frequent and the duration of her stays were longer. Trina wasn’t exactly the go-to secret keeper, and if Tori was being honest with herself, she wasn’t quite sure how she’d take the news that her little sister was dating someone like Jade: the girl who never missed an opportunity to torment every single soul at Hollywood Arts.

Sooner or later, everyone was going to find out—her friends, her family, the entire student body—but for now, she was happy to keep this between her and Jade, whose feelings were more than mutual. 

When lunchtime came around on Friday afternoon, Tori was by her locker, switching out her books and absentmindedly thinking about Jade. She hadn’t seen her since their third-period history class, and although only an hour had passed since then—an hour which they spent texting each other—she was already missing her. 

As she pulled out the last textbook from her bag, she snuck a glance toward the other end of the hallway, hoping to see the subject of her thoughts. Her lips curled into a warm smile when her eyes found Jade standing there. She watched as she took out her scriptwriting journal, slipped it into her locker, and reached back into her bag. As she did, she looked up, her blue-green eyes boring into brown ones. 

Like many instances before, Tori had been caught blatantly staring, and the smug smirk on Jade’s lips only confirmed it. Instead of bashfully looking away as she always did, this time, she decided to own it. Jade already knew how she felt about her, there was no point in shying away anymore. So, her eyes lingered, and Jade’s smirk only grew wider. 

Time passed and students trickled out of the hall and toward the café, but they remained rooted by their respective lockers, not-so-subtly gazing at each other from a distance. Without ever breaking their eye contact, Tori slowly raised her arm to put away the textbook that was still in her hand. She was so captivated by Jade, so enthralled by the mere sight of her, that she didn’t notice her hand wasn’t inside the locker when she let go. 

A loud thud pierced her daze and she snapped her head down toward the noise: her textbook meeting the ground. She quickly fumbled to pick it up as a wave of mortification washed over her. She didn’t know what it was about Jade, but just being in her vicinity made her the poster child for clumsy. 

From the other side of the hall, Jade did her best to stifle a laugh as she turned to put away the rest of her things. When she finished, she shut her locker, adjusted the bag strap on her shoulder, and sauntered over to Tori, an amused grin twisting her lips.

With a quick scan of the area, ensuring no one was around, she walked up to the crimson-cheeked source of her amusement, leaned close from behind so that her lips hovered near her ear, and whispered, “Smooth, Vega, really smooth.” 

“I was distracted,” Tori muttered a defense as she shoved the textbook into her locker and slammed it shut. 

When she spun around to look at her, Jade had already walked away and was inching toward the janitor’s closet. She paused at the door, opened it slightly, turned back to meet Tori’s gaze, and nodded her head inside, a silent invitation for her to follow.

The second she motioned for her to join, Tori’s humiliation dissipated into thin air, replaced by an elation only Jade could provide. She didn’t have to think twice about it. As Jade disappeared through the door, she took off in a fast-paced jog behind her, but slowed down as she neared the entrance. The last thing she needed was to look desperate. 

“Hi Butterfingers,” Jade said as soon as Tori entered the small confines of the room. “Drop any other books on your way over?”

In the few seconds that it took Tori to follow her in, Jade had somehow managed to climb onto the red tool chest across from the door. She sat there, legs partially spread, hands resting between them on the metal edge, with a self-satisfied expression on her face.

“I was distracted,” Tori repeated her previous justification while closing the door behind her. She dropped her bag on the ground next to it and stepped closer to her.

Jade chuckled. “Yeah, because you were staring at me.” 

“I seem to recall you not looking away yourself.” 

“It was an intimidation tactic,” Jade said, leaning forward ever so slightly so that her face was inches away from Tori’s, “to see if you’d crack.” 

Before Tori could even ponder a move, she pulled back and added, “You cracked.” 

“You’re so full of chiz,” Tori said, rolling her eyes as she moved in closer, standing between parted legs with her front pressed up against the tool chest. She kept her arms dangling at her sides. “Why would you try to intimidate me?”

Jade shrugged in a gesture meant to convey indifference. “‘Cause I like to make you nervous.” 

“You don’t make me nervous anymore,” Tori stated, exuding a faux confidence that would’ve been convincing had she not averted her gaze to avoid making eye contact.

Of course, Jade wasn’t sold, and she took that as a challenge. 

“Oh really? You’re not nervous right now?” she asked, an eyebrow raised in slight curiosity. Her lips curled into a smug smirk when Tori shook her head in response. She bent down again until they were cheek-to-cheek, her lips lingering over her ear, and followed with, “Not even a little?”

It took a brief moment for Tori to respond. She needed to recompose herself after Jade’s warm breath tickled her ear in a way that sent shivers down to the tips of her toes. 

“N-not even a little,” she finally answered, uncertainty coloring her tone.

Jade pulled back and gingerly rested her arms atop the Latina’s shoulders, interlocking her hands behind her neck. Her blue-green eyes sought chocolate brown ones until Tori finally gave in and met her expecting gaze.

The instant their eyes connected, Tori almost gave up her front. There was something so bewitching about Jade’s color-changing eyes. They were like magic: one look into them and she was under her spell. They were her kryptonite, and she was certain Jade had already figured that out.

“What about now?” Jade inquired as they continued to gaze into each other’s eyes. She was so set on proving herself right. 

“I’m cool as a cucumber,” Tori lied, the evidence clear in her shaky voice. Under Jade’s stare, she was growing weaker by the millisecond. There was only so much more she could take. 

Noticing the effect she was having on her, Jade leaned forward again, her face coming inches from hers, allowing just enough distance between them to never break eye contact. At least, that was until she licked her lips with preemptive satisfaction and Tori’s eyes surprisingly tore away to watch.

“Jade?” she half-whispered, her focus still on her lips. 

“Yeah?”

Tori’s eyes flickered back to darkened blue-green ones. “You make me _very_ nervous.”

Jade didn’t boast her win, or call her out for giving up, she just moved in slowly and pressed her lips to Tori’s. She had only intended to go in for a quick embrace, a nonverbal reminder that there was nothing to be nervous about, but the second their lips brushed against each other, that all went out the window. 

Lately, what started out as an innocent kiss would quickly progress into something more intense, and this one was no different. Their lips moved in a harmonious synchronicity interrupted only by Jade’s tongue as it traced along Tori’s lower lip, seeking an invitation to deepen the kiss.

Without hesitation or delay, Tori parted her lips, granting Jade that access. As their tongues entwined, she felt her legs nearly buckle beneath her and she reached out for support. She placed both hands on either side of Jade’s legs, gripping the edges of the tool chest, not wanting to overstep a boundary they hadn’t established yet. 

Everything between them was so new and fresh, and like any developing relationship, they were still trying to figure each other out. Though some things progressed rather quickly, some remained unexplored. 

Jade sensed Tori’s reservations and without ever breaking their embrace, she lowered her arms from where she had them wrapped around her shoulders. She took both hands in her own and muttered reassuringly into their kiss, “It’s okay to touch me, if you want. I’m not gonna dissolve.”

When she felt Tori’s lips pull into a smile—signaling her okay—Jade guided tanned hands and set them atop her black tights-clad thighs. Content with their new arrangement, she locked her arms back around her neck and kissed her hard.

Neither one was keeping track of how much time passed as they made out in the privacy of the janitor’s closet, but at some point, before things could escalate any further, Tori pulled back an inch to get a much-needed breath of air.

“Is something wrong?” Jade asked, a flicker of concern darting across her eyes. 

“No! Definitely not!” Tori answered, shaking her head firmly. “It’s just…don’t laugh when I say this, okay?”

“I won’t.” 

“You kind of take my breath away…literally,” Tori mumbled, but their faces were still only inches apart, so Jade heard it loud and clear. 

“We can stop if you want to then,” Jade offered, unhooking her arms from around her neck, “I wouldn’t want you to pass out on me.”

Tori’s hands shot up to stop her from pulling away. “I’m not gonna pass out, Jade. I just needed a second, but I’m good now. I’m back.”

“Are you sure?” Jade asked, her tone still tinged with concern.

At once, Tori decided to forgo a verbal response and instead leaned in and recaptured her slightly parted lips in a heated kiss. As their tongues collided in a fervent dance, Jade’s arms wrapped tighter around her neck, pulling her closer, while her own hands braced Jade’s thighs again for support. The unexpected touch sent an involuntary shudder through Jade’s body. 

And so they settled into the same rhythm from before, as if no interruption had ever occurred. The kiss was longer than their previous, and though they both wished it could continue for as long as the other would allow, they eventually pulled apart in tandem, both silently catching their breath. 

“We should go to lunch,” Tori proposed, though the look of disinterest on her face suggested she wasn’t that committed to her own proposition. 

Typically, they didn’t hang back in the janitor’s closet for too long for fear of raising suspicions, but sometimes, like in that moment, time would just get away from them. 

“Why would we do that?” Jade inquired, a flirtatious lilt in her voice. 

“Because—” Tori started to answer, but was interrupted by a chaste kiss. “This is—” Another kiss. “The third time—” Another longer, more passionate kiss. “This week…” she trailed off, unable to think straight when Jade kept peppering kisses on her lips and making her forget how to even function.

With a slightly mischievous grin playing at her lips, Jade stopped, pulled back, straightened herself up, and lowered her arms down to her sides. “Hm, could you repeat that? I couldn’t quite catch what you said.”

“You’re such an ass.” 

“Oh my goodness gracious, Sweet Sally Peaches! What terrible language!” Jade cried out in the fake Southern Belle voice she loved to imitate her with. “Would you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Tori rolled her eyes as she slid her hands off of Jade’s thighs, crossed her arms across her chest, and rebutted half-heartedly, “I don’t talk like that…or kiss my mom.” 

“Seriously though, what were you saying?” Jade asked, her voice back to normal. Her eyes trailed down to where Tori’s hands just were, missing the contact. 

“Well, now I don’t remember since someone”—Tori shot her a pointed glare—“interrupted me.”

“It must not have been that important if you can’t remember.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Tori said, throwing her hands up in mock exasperation. “I’m going to lunch before one of our friends sends a search party after us.”

“I’m sure André has already flooded your phone with texts asking where you are,” Jade said as she jumped off of the tool chest, landing gracefully on her feet right in front of her.

Tori cocked her head to the side, a trace of a smile flitting across her face. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?”

“What do I possibly have to be jealous about, Vega?” Jade scoffed. 

“I don’t know. You tell me. You’re the one getting defensive.”

“I’m not.”

“Not defensive or not jealous?”

“Neither,” Jade argued. 

“You know André and I are just friends, right? He’s like my brother.” Tori shuddered at simply the thought of dating her best friend. “Besides, I’m kind of dating someone else.”

“Kind of? Just the other day I watched The Notebook for you. The fucking Notebook. Do you know how hard it was not to fall asleep through that? We’re not just _kind of dating_ ,” Jade defended, using air quotes around the last three words, “we’re definitely dating.”

Neither one had ventured to make things between them official yet, though in the last few days, they had both tiptoed around the subject. Unbeknownst to one another, they were both ready to take that next step.

Tori unfolded her arms and took one of Jade’s hands in hers. “You secretly loved that movie though.”

“Uh-uh,” Jade said, shaking her head and dismissing the comment. “It was a God-awful movie. That car should’ve ran them over. Maybe then it could’ve been good.”

“There you go, making everything grim and gory.”

“And you know what? I’m just gonna say it. Noah was a creep. He makes Sinjin seem chill.”

Tori opened her mouth to argue, but closed it quickly. She didn’t have anything to counter with. 

“And to top it all off,” Jade continued her small rant, “they die together in the end? What kind of unrealistic shit was that?” 

“Oh, because your beloved horror movies are _so_ realistic?” 

“They are, actually. Many of them are based on _true stories_ ,” Jade informed her, saying the end in a mockingly scary voice. 

“Shh!” Tori said, letting go of Jade’s hand and covering her ears. “I don’t need to be reminded that those are real. I have enough nightmares from what you’ve made me watch.”

“Alright, Pansy, come on,” Jade said, taking Tori’s arms and lowering them so she’d hear her. “Let’s go to lunch. Nothing can scare you there, except maybe Robbie.”

Jade let her go and they moved around the cramped space to grab their bags from where they had discarded them when they came in. 

“You go first, I’ll meet you there,” Jade instructed as she stepped toward the door. 

Just as she went to grab the handle, Tori leaned forward and met her lips with a soft, parting kiss. It caught her off guard, but she kissed her in return. When they pulled apart, Tori had a beaming smile plastered on her face. 

“For the record, The Notebook is based on a true story,” she stated with a wink. “So, it _is_ realistic.”

“Who gives a shit,” Jade said, opening the door and shooing her away with her free hand. “Go! And wipe that damn smile off your face, you’re gonna get us caught.”

* * *

After lunch, the latter half of the school day went by in a flash. Time seemed to move twice as fast as it normally did, and Tori chalked it up to her excitement and bubbling anticipation for her date-in at Jade’s. She’d been looking forward to it since the start of the week, when Jade first suggested the idea after finding out her mom would be away all weekend on a business trip. 

It was the first time she was getting to go to the West residence, and she was both excited and nervous about it. Ever since she’d known her, Jade’s house had always been off-limits to the group—or anyone really. Only Beck and Cat had ever had the privilege to visit, but after today, she would join the ranks. Not like that mattered, she was just happy to know Jade was finally comfortable enough with her to invite her over.

“I don’t know what you’re so excited about, Vega,” Jade said as they walked hand-in-hand toward the front door of her house. She had picked up on Tori’s enthusiasm from the moment they pulled out of the student parking lot. “It’s just a house.”

“Yeah, but it’s _your_ house.”

“It’s my mom’s house, actually,” Jade corrected. “I only live here...for now.”

“You know what I mean! This”—Tori pointed to the house—“is partially where you grew up. It’s where you spend most of your time. It’s where you make your Slap videos, where you write your scripts,” Tori explained, halting mid-step and causing Jade to stop with her. She turned to her, a warm smile dancing on her lips as she softly added, “I’m just really happy that you’re sharing it with me.”

Jade playfully rolled her eyes, but her lips pulled into a matching grin. She couldn’t help but smile when Tori looked at her like that, and lately, it’d been happening a lot.

“Let’s go, dork,” she teased, pulling at their entwined hands and gently tugging her toward the front door. 

The second Tori set foot inside, she began to look around with considerable curiosity. She wasn’t all that concerned with the house itself, although it was a beautiful home. What she was really interested in was finding something, anything, that would help her learn more about the closed-off, tight-lipped girl she was dating.

As Jade closed and locked the front door, Tori beelined over to a mahogany console table in the entryway and studied the small selection of silver-framed photos that lined its surface. The first, on the far left, was of a peacefully-sleeping newborn wrapped tightly in a white blanket with the name Logan stitched in green. From context, and what little she already knew, she figured that was Jade’s little brother.

The next was of a young Jade, at what Tori assumed was eight or nine years old, sitting on a hospital bed and holding Logan in her arms. She had a beaming smile on her little face, the kind of smile she’d never seen from her before. If she had to guess, that grin was probably as rare as snowfall in a California summer. She didn’t know why, but she hoped that one day she could make her smile just as brightly. 

The third photo caught Tori’s attention most, so she picked up the frame for further inspection. It seemed to have been taken the same day and in the same hospital room as the second one, which she concluded was from Logan’s birth. The photo featured the entire West family—Jade, Logan, Mr. West, and Ms. West—huddled together on the hospital bed. Jade and Ms. West were all smiles, but Mr. West had an impassive expression on his face, the same one Tori noticed he held the entire time he watched Jade’s play just over a year before. 

There was very little she knew about the man—or the Wests in general—except that he and Jade had a somewhat strained relationship and that he viewed her passion for writing and acting as simply a waste. From their sole interaction during the opening night of Jade’s play, Tori had found him to be cold and judgmental, and she surmised that he wasn’t the most supportive father. While Jade liked to pretend she wasn’t bothered by that, oftentimes, it was clear to Tori that she was. 

“That’s the only picture of my dad you’ll ever see in this house,” Jade randomly admitted, startling Tori out of her memory-fueled trance. She was so consumed by the picture—and the recollection of meeting Jade’s dad—that she failed to notice Jade approach and stand beside her. 

“Why is that?” she asked, tearing her eyes away from the photo and looking at her instead. 

Jade was quiet for a moment before returning her gaze. “My mom hates him.”

Tori nodded in understanding, but didn’t respond. She didn’t know what else to say, nor did she want to pry, or make Jade retreat after she voluntarily opened up to her. Still, she had so many questions, so many things left to learn about her, but she knew it would all come in due time. When Jade was ready, she was prepared to listen. 

Gently, she set the frame back in its place and glanced over at the final picture. It was similar to the first, but slightly lower quality and the blanket swaddling the baby wasn’t customized. The starkest difference between them was that the baby in the last photo was wide awake, mean-mugging the camera. Tori’s eyes widened with admiration when she realized it was Jade as a newborn.

“You’ve been mad at the world since you were born, huh?” she asked as she leaned forward to get a better look at the photograph. She had seen Jade wearing the same sullen expression countless times before.

“I wasn’t mad at the world, I was pissed at my mom.”

“For what? Giving birth to you?”

“No, because she didn’t wait to,” Jade responded, speaking as if it was obvious information. 

Tori straightened up and looked at her questioningly. “I don’t get it. Am I missing something? Why should she have waited?” 

“You don’t know when my birthday is, do you?” Jade asked, folding her arms across her chest and shooting her a trademark glare. 

“Yes, I do!” Tori immediately defended. “It’s October 30th, but what does that have to do with—Oh!” she exclaimed in realization. Then, in a softer tone, she added understandingly: “You wish you had been born on Halloween.”

“Yeah…and I could’ve been born on Halloween, but my _mother_ couldn’t keep her damn legs shut for seven more minutes,” Jade complained, voice dripping with vexation.

Tori placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “I get the feeling there’s some resentment there.”

“Oh, believe me, I’m very resentful. I’ve been resentful for seventeen years,” Jade retorted, keeping her arms tightly crossed. “She deprived me of a Halloween birthday, so every year I do something to make her regret it.”

“Do I even want to ask?” Tori questioned, a flicker of concern crossing her face. 

“If there’s one thing mommy dearest hates beyond reason, it’s having a daughter with tattoos and piercings,” Jade explained. “So naturally, I got tattoos and piercings. It started with my star tattoo and then I got this”—she pointed to her studded brow—“and then this”—she pointed to the stud on the right side of her nose—“and when I turn eighteen in October I’ll find something new to pierce or a new body part to tattoo and she’ll lose her mind over it.”

Tori looked at her in disbelief, although she wasn’t truly shocked by the disclosure, mostly just in awe. “All that just to spite your mom?” 

“Yes, plus they make my dad fume with rage, so it’s a win-win.” 

“Man, you must really hate them,” Tori mused, though she regretted it the moment the words left her lips. She worried she may have overstepped a boundary by saying that.

“I don’t hate them, but I also don’t love them,” Jade clarified, unable to suppress the melancholy in her voice. She drew in a shaky breath and exhaled slowly. Before anything else could be said, she cleared her throat, took one of Tori’s hands in hers, and nodded toward a hallway. “Come on, I’ll show you my room.” 

Tori followed closely behind as Jade led them past the foyer and through a hallway. She looked around as they made their way, keeping her eyes peeled for any more pictures of Jade. They were almost to her room when Tori stopped abruptly, pausing to view an array of photos that lined the pale blue-colored walls. 

“No, we’re not doing this again,” Jade protested, attempting to pull her along, but Tori retracted her hand and stayed put. She had come across a gold mine and she’d be damned if she didn’t get to look at it.

Donning a look of exasperation—and slight defeat—Jade crossed her arms over her chest, leaned her shoulder against the wall, and watched as Tori surveyed the top row of photos with great interest. 

The first white-edged frame she examined held a school picture of Logan, which was precious, but nowhere near as adorable as the content in the second photograph.

“Oh my god! This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!” Tori squealed with joyous delight, cupping her face in her hands as she gazed at a photo of Jade and her brother wearing _Up_ -inspired costumes. Jade was dressed identical to Carl, while Logan—who was a baby at the time—wore a onesie similar to Russell’s Wilderness Explorer uniform. “You both nailed it!”

“One thing you need to know about me is that I never, and I mean _never_ , fuck around when it comes to Halloween,” Jade stated, exuding an air of pride and confidence, “even at ten years old.”

“Clearly. Meanwhile, at ten years old I was obsessed with The Nutcracker, so I went as a ballerina. Then the year after that I was—”

“Wait, let me guess,” Jade cut her off, smirking at the opportunity of a new challenge. “A bumblebee? No, no, that’s not it.” She shook her head, tapping her fingers along her arm as she mulled over other options. “Oh, I’ve got it. A princess?”

Tori was quiet, though the pink tint that emerged on her tanned cheeks immediately gave her away. 

“Cinderella,” she revealed. “I had a blonde wig and everything. Trina made fun of me for years. She still does, actually.” 

Jade chuckled. “I understand why. It’s so unoriginal.” 

“Hey! I was eleven. Leave me alone!”

“That’s not an excuse. Plus, I’ve seen what you dressed up as the last two years. I’ll sum it up in one word: Boring!” Jade declared. “We’re really gonna have to up your costume game if you’re gonna be my girlfriend.”

Jade didn’t realize what she said, so when the expression on Tori’s face went from one of faux offense to one of utter glee, she shot her a puzzled look. 

“Why are you being so weird?” she asked cautiously. 

“You want me to be your girlfriend?” Tori inquired, a brow raised in hopeful curiosity. She tried to act nonchalant, but she couldn’t quite contain the giddy grin that permanently settled itself on her lips.

A rush of panic swept through Jade as she tried to recall word for word what she’d said to her. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she’d unintentionally verbalized her desire to make Tori her girlfriend. It was far too late to take it back—not like she wanted to anyway—so she rolled with it, doing her best to play it off coolly.

“Do you want to be?” she asked, a flirtatious note in her voice. She pushed off the wall and moved toward her. 

Tori was suddenly very conscious of how nervous she’d become, though she hoped it wasn’t obvious. She could feel her heart racing in the way that it did only for the blue-green eyed girl who now stood directly in front of her, awaiting a response.

“I want to,” she replied, her smile never wavering. She felt an unexpected burst of confidence and added, “But only if you ask me properly.”

“You’re so obsessed with formalities,” Jade said with a dramatic eye roll. “But okay, whatever. If that’s what you want.”

“It is.” 

“Why, Miss Sally, would you like to go steady with me?” Jade asked mockingly, using the voice she reserved for imitating her. 

Tori just glared at her, resisting the knee-jerk response that often escaped her lips after Jade’s imitation. Instead, she dryly remarked, “You’re hilarious.” 

“What? You wanted me to ask properly.”

“That’s not even close to what I meant.”

Jade lips curled into a reassuring smile as she looked Tori straight in the eye and asked what the Latina had been not-so-patiently waiting to hear, “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Yes,” Tori replied, a little too hastily. “Do you want to be _my_ girlfriend?”

“No, I think I’m good,” Jade answered in jest, earning a scowl in return. Then, in a less sarcastic tone, she added: “Yes, I do.” 

“Hm? Do what now?” Tori asked, cupping her ear as if she couldn’t hear her. 

“I want to be your girlfriend, Vega!” Jade exclaimed, a bit louder and more emphatically than she intended. 

Tori beamed with joy as she threw her arms around Jade’s neck, catching her now-girlfriend by surprise. But Jade recovered quickly and enveloped her arms around her waist, pulling her closer into her. They stood like that for a brief moment, quietly staring at each other, both sporting similar smiles.

“Hi, girlfriend,” Tori said, a mixture of affection and amusement coloring her tone. 

“You’re not going to do this all day, are you? Because if you are, then I take it back.” 

“Sorry, no take backs,” Tori said, leaning forward and capturing Jade’s lips in hers. She kissed her slowly, savoring the moment.

Although they had shared many kisses in the last two weeks—and a handful of times before that—they all paled in comparison to this one. There was just something so different about it. Sure, it wasn’t as deep or as passionate or as intense as some of the past, but it held more meaning. And for Tori, it evoked something new in her. It wasn’t love, it definitely wasn’t love—not yet—but she felt a new connection to Jade that she’d never felt before, and she wondered if Jade was feeling it too. 

“I like kissing you,” she murmured against Jade’s lips and felt them curve into a soft smile in response. 

“I guess kissing you isn’t _that_ bad,” Jade joked. She pulled back just enough to look at her and was met with a stern gaze.

“Do you have to turn everything into a joke?”

“Who said I was joking?” 

A flicker of hurt crossed Tori’s face, so she turned away. That didn’t go unnoticed by Jade, who instantly released her grip from around her waist and moved to cup her face. Her blue-green eyes searched for brown ones, and when Tori finally met her expectant gaze, she flashed her a rare yet genuine full-toothed grin. 

“I like kissing you too,” she admitted before placing a soft kiss on her lips. “Just not in the middle of my hallway. Come on. You can finally see the big mystery that is my room.” 

* * *

Just as Jade had anticipated, Tori ended up exploring every inch of her bedroom. From the moment she walked in, brown eyes scanned around the space with interest, taking in every single detail, from the cluster of Joan Jett posters on the wall, down to the collection of vinyl records Jade kept stored in a milk crate next to her dresser. 

As Tori made her rounds, Jade sat at the edge of her bed, leaning back on her hands, watching her girlfriend peruse through her stuff, and answering each and every question she’d pose—which with Tori meant a lot of them.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Tori was done, and she found herself sitting right next to Jade on the purple bed, making out with her. She couldn’t quite recall how they’d gotten to that point, her attention far too occupied with the way her lips were moving against Jade’s, but she wasn’t all that concerned. 

On an ever-growing list of things she enjoyed about dating Jade, kissing her was, without a doubt, the uncontested top. She could’ve stayed like that all afternoon and well into the evening, with Jade’s hand delicately holding her neck, the other resting on her waist, while their lips collided in a slow, yet heated kiss. At least that was until her stomach growled so loud that they were both startled apart. 

“Are you hungry?” Jade asked, pulling back and looking at her with slight concern. 

Tori shook her head and leaned forward to recapture her lips, but Jade held a hand up to stop her. 

“Your stomach just had a full-blown concert, Vega,” she pointed out. “You’re clearly hungry.”

“No, I’m just digesting.”

Jade looked at her with an ‘I’m not buying this shit’ expression on her face. “Really? Digesting? When was the last time you ate?”

Tori briefly thought about it. “At lunch.”

“You didn’t even finish your salad.”

“That’s because I didn’t have time. You made me late! I only had ten minutes to eat.”

“I didn’t do squat,” Jade defended, rolling her eyes as she rose to her feet. She took Tori’s hand and pulled her up. “Follow me.”

Once in the kitchen, Tori took a seat on a bar stool next to the island, while Jade strolled over to the pantry and retrieved a handful of items. She dropped them off on the counter and slid a bag of snack-sized Sun Chips in Tori’s direction. 

“There,” she said as she spun around and walked toward the fridge. “That should help tide you over while dinner cooks.”

“Dinner cooks?” Tori questioned, a brow arched in intrigue. “You’re making me dinner?”

“We’re making dinner.”

“Oh! What are _we_ making then?” Tori asked, opening her bag of chips. 

Jade didn’t immediately respond as she sifted through the contents of the fridge, searching for the last of her ingredients. When she gathered what she needed, she popped her head out from behind the door and replied, “Pizza.”

“You just have all the ingredients to make pizza lying around?”

“No, I bought everything last night. I was thinking we could do dinner and a movie, but at home,” Jade replied, stepping out from behind the fridge. Her hands were too full to close the door on her own, and as she maneuvered to do it with her backside, Tori came around and shut it for her.

“Thank you,” she added. 

Tori nodded in response. “What a romantic date! Are you going to light some of the hundred candles you have in your room?”

“No, those don’t leave my room. Besides, we’re watching the movie out on the deck.”

“What? Like on your laptop?”

“Ugh, stop asking questions and eat your chips,” Jade groaned in annoyance. “Just be patient. I know that can be very difficult for you.”

“I can be patient,” Tori muttered before taking a bite out of a chip.

“I have yet to see that, but dream big, Peaches.”

Tori rolled her eyes and walked over to stand next to her, surveying all the ingredients on the counter. 

“I see that you bought pre-made pizza dough,” she noted. 

“Yes, because we both know what happened the last time _you_ tried to make pizza from scratch.”

“That wasn’t entirely my fault. You gave me the wrong measurements!” Tori quickly defended. 

“No, I didn’t,” Jade countered, picking up the package of dough and reading the cooking instructions on the back. She set it down on the counter, walked over to the oven, and set the temperature. 

“Whatever, liar,” Tori said. 

A few minutes passed as she quietly ate her chips, watching Jade glide around the kitchen, moving from one task to another.

“Do you need help with anything?” she offered. 

Jade shook her head in response as she returned to stand next to her with a baking sheet in one hand and a bottle of olive oil in the other. She worked quickly, lining the pan with oil, evenly spreading it around, and placing two individual-sized crusts atop it. 

“I have an idea,” Tori stated, a sly smirk teasing at the corners of her mouth. She crumbled the empty bag of chips in her hands and walked it over to the trash can before returning to Jade’s side. 

Without ever stopping what she was doing, Jade shot her a questioning and slightly fearful look. “Nothing good ever happens when you get ideas.”

Tori ignored her remark as if she hadn’t heard it. “What if, you top mine and I top yours.”

At that, Jade abruptly stopped spreading the tomato sauce on the crust and turned to her, unable to contain the suggestive grin that broke out. 

“You might want to rephrase that,” she advised. 

The look on Tori’s face when she registered what she’d said was priceless, causing Jade to break out into a fit of laughter. 

“Oh my god! I was talking about toppings!” Tori clarified with a look of utter humiliation. “I put toppings on yours, you put toppings on mine, and we make each other’s pizza. That’s all I meant.”

“Sure, that’s fine,” Jade said, waving her off as she tried to recollect herself. As soon as she stopped laughing her face turned serious and she warned, “But if mine tastes like shit you’ll owe me pizza for a month.”

“Deal,” Tori said, offering her hand as a token of agreement. 

Jade put down the spoon she was using to spread the tomato sauce and grasped Tori’s waiting hand. Before they could shake on it, she gently pulled her into her, wrapping an arm around her waist as she brought Tori’s hand to her lips and kissed the backside. Then, as Tori’s eyes widened with unexpected surprise, she leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. 

“Deal,” she replied as she pulled away, nonchalantly returning her attention to the pizzas. “No more handshakes. You’re my girlfriend, not my business partner.”

Tori was left bewildered, breathless, and frozen in place. When she finally snapped out of it, she smiled to herself. They’d only been official for a little over an hour, but between the newfound title and Jade’s incredibly romantic gesture, she was sure she could easily get used to being her girlfriend.

* * *

“What do you want to listen to?” Jade asked as she sat atop the kitchen island, pouring a fistful of shredded cheese into the palm of her hand. She already knew exactly what she wanted to play, but she gave Tori a chance to chime in since it was she who suggested they listen to music while they prepared each other’s pizzas. 

“Hm, surprise me.”

“Okay, screamo it is. Hey Goog—”

“What? No!” Tori interrupted, vehemently shaking her head. “Please, anything but that.”

Jade chuckled. “Hey Google, play Tori’s playlist on kitchen speaker.”

“Okay, playing Tori’s playlist on kitchen speaker,” the Google assistant responded.

Seconds later, the familiar drum-filled intro to The Neighbourhood’s _Sweater Weather_ came blaring from the in-ceiling speakers and filled the kitchen. Tori nodded her head to the beat as she held out her hand, requesting the bag of shredded cheese in Jade’s possession.

“This song never gets old,” she confessed. 

Jade handed her the bag. “I think you mean the whole album.” 

As the lyrics began, Tori sang along to every word a little louder than Jade would normally accept from anyone, but because it was her, she didn’t seem to mind it all that much. Instead of protesting, she silently watched her dance in place as she sprinkled cheese over the pizza like it was fairy dust. 

_“Touch my neck and I’ll touch yours,”_ Tori sang along, completely oblivious to her girlfriend’s stare. _"You in those little high-waisted shorts.”_

At the last line, Jade’s eyes gravitated away from Tori’s hands and traveled toward her swaying hips, then down to her legs. Coincidentally, she was wearing high-waisted denim cuffed shorts, and Jade never felt a lyric of a song hit her so _fucking_ hard.

Not wanting to get caught ogling her, she averted her eyes back up, settling on her face. It was in that moment that Tori met her gaze, a slightly concerned expression lining her features, almost as if she was asking her if everything was okay. Jade just smiled in return and looked down at her pizza, noticing she had made zero progress on it since she was too busy staring. 

“Just making sure you aren’t fucking up my pizza,” she explained abruptly, trying to play off the fact that she got caught. 

Tori smirked. It was rare to catch Jade staring, usually it was the other way around, so she wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to mess with her the way she always did.

“I didn’t realize the pizza was on my face,” she said facetiously. 

“Shut up.” 

“Maybe you should focus on making mine instead of staring. I’d like to at least have a little cheese,” Tori quipped, nodding her head toward the cheeseless, toppingless pizza in front of Jade. 

With a faux reassuring smile, Jade pinched some cheese from the mound in her hand and flung it at her, teasingly saying, “There, now you can have a _little_ cheese.”

“Jade!” Tori cried out, jumping back with her hands up to avoid getting hit. Lucky for her, it mostly went on the counter and the rest landed on the floor. “You jerk!”

“Oops, my hand slipped,” Jade said, voice dripping with sarcasm. She shrugged and went on to—finally—distribute the remainder of the cheese she still held, then rubbed her hands together to rid herself of the crumbs. 

Tori rolled her eyes at her in a gesture that conveyed both annoyance and dismissal. She briefly debated whether or not she wanted to retaliate. She could fight fire with fire, but she was absolutely certain she’d burn. Instead, she settled for a warning: “I’ll get you back when you least expect it, West.” 

Of course, Jade perked up at that. There was nothing like a good threat to get her excited. It was like music to her ears. 

“Oh, I’d love to see you try, _Vega_ ,” she retorted emphatically, wearing a self-satisfied grin. 

They soon engaged in a brief stare-down, one which Tori lost almost instantly because the moment those blue-green eyes bore into her, she once again fell victim to Jade’s spell. Suddenly, their banter became a distant memory and all she could focus on was an overwhelming, recurring desire to kiss her—and wipe the smirk off of her lips. 

“You got a little something on your face,” she said coyly, moving in toward her.

“Do I?” Jade asked, a studded brow raised in feigned concern. She was fully aware of what Tori was doing, it was the oldest trick in the book, and she had no intention to stop her. In fact, she scooted closer to the edge of the counter, granting her easy access. “Where?”

“Here,” Tori said, leaning forward and kissing a corner of her mouth before retracting and doing the same with the other. “And here,” she added, then kissed her right on the lips. “And—”

Before she could finish Jade kissed her back, completely silencing her. Tori didn’t mind though, it was exactly what she was hoping for.

When they pulled apart, Jade looked at her with a playful gaze and said, “That move was really cheesy, even for you.” 

“Ha, cheesy!” Tori giggled, wiggling her brows and motioning to the cheese-covered pizzas. “Get it?”

Jade blankly stared at her for a moment then turned her attention back to the pizza. “God, you’re such a dork.”

* * *

Eventually, in between spontaneous kisses and bouts of banter, they finished preparing their pizzas and stuck them in the oven to cook. They ate dinner a while later, sitting side by side at the kitchen island, talking and swapping stories of the best concerts they’d ever been to. For Jade, it was a pop-up Joan Jett show at The Troubadour, which she confessed, unprompted, that she had to begrudgingly beg her mom—an Entertainment Lawyer at Sony Music—to use her connections to get her in. For Tori, it was an unsurprising revelation: Taylor Swift at the Rose Bowl.

They took their time while they ate and conversed, neither one in a rush to go anywhere or do anything but soak up each other’s presence. It was nice to be alone together for a prolonged period of time, something they rarely experienced since they started dating.

“There’s something I’d like to show you,” Jade announced when they were done with dinner. 

“Is it your scissor collection?”

“No. Why? Do you want to see it?” Jade asked, a flicker of excitement flashing across blue-green eyes.

Tori smiled. She didn’t quite get her fascination with scissors, but she enjoyed seeing the way her face practically lit up at the mention. “Sure, I’d love that.” 

“Later,” Jade promised with a mimicking smile as she offered her hand and Tori took it. “First, I have a surprise.”

“What is it?” 

“It’s not much of a surprise if I tell you, dingus.” 

“Can I at least have a hint?” Tori asked, giving her a puppy dog face.

Jade raised their entwined hands and twirled her around like a ballerina until she was facing away from her. “You know those don’t work on me.”

“Just a little hint?” Tori pleaded, deepening her pout though Jade could no longer see it.

“Uh-uh,” Jade replied, moving in from behind and gently placing both hands over brown eyes to keep her from peeking. “Promise not to try and look?

It wasn’t very like her to care about ruining surprises, but this was something she’d been looking forward to showing Tori all day.

Holding a hand up like a scout reciting their pledge, Tori declared, “I promise.”

With her assurance, Jade slowly led her out to the backyard, guiding her toward a pergola on the deck. They only traveled a few yards before she stopped, causing Tori to halt with her.

“I’m removing my hands, but keep your eyes closed,” she ordered before pulling her hands away to uncover her eyes. “Don’t open them until I tell you.” 

“Ay ay Captain Suzy,” Tori said with a sarcastic salute. She couldn’t see her, but she could practically feel Jade rolling her eyes at her for the gesture…and the nickname. 

After quickly checking to make sure Tori wasn’t peeking, Jade left her side. She swiftly moved around the deck, taking care of the few things she needed to handle as part of her reveal.

A few minutes passed and Tori stood waiting with her eyes closed, just like she had been so adamantly instructed to do. She swayed from side to side, humming the _Jeopardy_ theme song, and trying her best to keep busy. Her anticipation was building with every second, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could last. 

“Can I open my eyes yet?” she finally asked, exuding a similar impatience to a child on a road trip. 

“No!” Jade replied from a distance. 

“What are you doing? Why are you so far away?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jade retorted. A few seconds later, she spoke again, this time sounding closer. “Your eyes better be closed, V.” 

“Hey, I like that. Is that V for Victoria or V for Vega?” Tori questioned, her attention now consumed by the new nickname. 

“V for very annoying and impatient girl who asks too many questions,” Jade clarified, walking back to where she stood, still anxiously swaying. “Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

Tori couldn’t open her eyes fast enough, and when she did, the first thing in her line of sight was Jade, standing directly in front of her with her hands behind her back, like she was hiding something, and a genuine smile on her face. 

“You’re my surprise?” she asked, a brow raised as her lips quirked up in an amused smile. 

“No, this is,” Jade said before stepping to the side, revealing the contents of the pergola. “Welcome to my favorite place in this house.” 

Under the covered area where they stood, there was an outdoor movie theater setup, complete with a large projection screen mounted from a beam, a sofa, two love seats, and a covered fire pit in the center. 

“Woah!” Tori gasped as she took a few steps forward to get a better look. Her brown eyes darted around, taking in every detail from the decorative string of lights that hung from the beams to the plethora of candles laid out on the surface of the covered fire pit. “This is amazing.”

“You like it?” Jade asked, her voice unusually soft. She stepped next to her, keeping her body angled so that Tori wouldn’t try to peek at what she held behind her back. The pergola was only half of her surprise.

“Like it?” Tori questioned, looking at her with a joyous expression on her tanned face. “Jade, I love it!”

“Good because it took me for-fucking-ever to hang those lights last night.”

“You did that?”

“Just the lights,” Jade replied. “Don’t try to give me credit for the rest. That’s all been here for years. I’m not Bob the Builder.”

Tori chuckled as she turned to face her. She opened her mouth to speak, to voice her appreciation, but quickly closed it when she realized Jade was hiding something behind her back. She’d been too consumed by the surprise to have noticed it initially and now it was all she could think about. 

With a smirk pulled at her lips and a mischievous glint in her eyes, she tried to peer around her, but Jade blocked her sight with every attempt. 

“Whatcha hiding back there?” she asked, growing more and more intrigued. 

“This is stupid and super cliché, but I got these for you,” Jade said, pulling a small, multi-colored bouquet of gerberas from behind her back and presenting them to her. 

Tori’s smirk grew into a full-blown beaming grin as her eyes settled on the colorful bouquet in Jade’s hands. “I thought you hated flowers.”

“Oh, I do, but you like them,” Jade said with a shrug as she handed them off to her, “so, here.”

“They’re so beautiful,” Tori remarked, taking them into her arms and sniffing their aroma. “Where did you get them?”

“I stole them from my neighbor’s garden,” Jade deadpanned.

A look of utter alarm crossed Tori’s face at her admission. “You did not.”

“What if I did?”

“I don’t want stolen flowers!” Tori cried out. 

“That’s very rude of you. I picked them myself.” 

“Out of someone else’s garden!” Tori reprimanded her. “I know you like breaking and entering, but I didn’t know you were a klepto too.”

“Alright, relax,” Jade said, throwing her hands up like she was surrendering. “I was just messing with you. I bought them from a flower shop. Using my _own_ money, in case you were wondering.”

Tori pretended to eye her suspiciously. “Now I don’t know what to believe.”

“You want me to get the receipt?” Jade asked, pointing behind her toward the house. “Or should I get my bank statement? Maybe you can call the florist, I’m sure he’ll remember me.”

Although she’d gladly confess to buying the flowers, she would never admit that she needed the florist’s help to pick them out. She wasn’t exactly an expert at flower-giving. In the end, after describing Tori to the florist at his request, she went with the flowers that most resembled her personality. 

“You don’t have to defend yourself, I believe you,” Tori promised. 

“Good, I was running out of evidence to prove my innocence.”

With a smile still lining her lips, Tori looked down at the flowers again, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Jade, of all people, had given them to her. There were certain things about dating Jade that she never would’ve expected, like how romantic she could be, or that despite the fact that she hated flowers or anything of the like, she’d still get them for her.

“You really got me flowers,” she let out, almost in disbelief. 

“Yes, I really did.”

“It’s not stupid, by the way. I think it’s really sweet that you did that and this,” Tori said, looking up at her then pointing at the lights. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, Peaches.”

Still grinning, Tori stepped forward and hooked her arms around Jade’s neck, letting the flowers dangle from her hands. As if guided by magnets, Jade’s hands moved to her waist, gently resting them there. For a moment, they stood in silence, staring at one another and trading content smiles. 

“You’re a really good girlfriend,” Tori proclaimed, breaking their silence. She looked her right in the eye as she said it. 

“Yeah, about that…”

Tori shot her a worried look. “What? You’re not going to break up with me already, are you?”

“No, idiot. Why would I break up with you?” Jade asked rhetorically, shaking her head. “What I was trying to say is that I initially planned to ask you to be my girlfriend here, tonight. That’s why everything is so…”

“Romantic?” Tori chimed in, finishing her sentence. 

“Cheesy,” Jade corrected. 

“We both know cheesy is just Jade code for romantic.”

“Jade code? What am I? A computer?”

“I think you should ask me anyway,” Tori said, ignoring her comment. 

“But you’re already my girlfriend.”

“We can start over. Pretend I never said yes earlier,” Tori suggested. 

“Are we really gonna do this again?” 

Tori fervently nodded her head. “Please? For me?”

Jade rolled her eyes and tried to contain the unbidden smile that curled her lips. As much as she tried to act tough, or cool, or indifferent around Tori, she just couldn’t. 

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” she asked, the soft smile still adorning her features.

“Yes,” Tori replied before moving in to kiss her. 

What started off sweet and slow quickly progressed into a deeper embrace, where their tongues intertwined and they lost themselves in the moment. Suddenly, Jade was walking backwards, guiding Tori toward the couch, their lips never once losing contact. When she felt the backs of her legs bump against the edge of the couch, she slowly sank down into the cushions, pulling Tori with her. 

With haste, Tori climbed onto her lap, legs straddling either side of her. She managed to set the flowers on an empty cushion next to them before returning her full attention to their embrace. 

As their kiss intensified, Jade’s hands roamed up and down Tori’s legs, brushing against bare skin and the fabric of her shorts, until eventually settling on her waist. Tori kept her arms wrapped around her neck, her fingers entangled in raven-colored hair. 

Several minutes passed as they both enjoyed their new physical connection, but Jade felt she was enjoying it a little too much and had to pull away. The last thing she wanted was to take that somewhere where Tori wasn’t ready for it to go. 

“We should stop or we’ll never get to the movie,” she said breathlessly. 

Tori unhooked her arms from around her neck and pulled back, staying put on top of her. She could feel the warmth of Jade’s hands on her waist and it felt like fire against her skin, the good kind.

“What movie?” she asked. 

“The Runaways."

“Wait a minute. You’re suggesting we watch a movie that’s not going to give me nightmares?”

“Just this once. It’s the only non-horror film I like.”

“Let me guess,” Tori said, “because it’s about Joan Jett.”

“It’s about The Runaways, Vega, not just Joan Jett.”

“Don’t defend yourself. I think it’s cute that you have an obsession with her,” Tori noted.

“I do not have an obsession.”

“You have her all over your room, you own at least two shirts with her face on it, and—”

“Just shut up,” Jade cut her off, leaning forward to silence her with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at @GrounderRecords. Come say hi hi!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. Drop your thoughts in the comments, if you'd like. I welcome all feedback! 🙂


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